Insanity
by Jenny123jenjen
Summary: The first thing you must understand is people are wrong - dimensional travel is not fun. Your body and soul is ripped apart and then rebuilt from scratch, all while you question the very concept of reality. You lose everything. I think my going insane was a justifiably normal reaction. /././Dark fiction, Law/OC, warnings inside. Image:bellatrysh on tumblr
1. Chapter 1

Hello, there! This is Jenny. Quick note about this story:

This is a dark, twisted fictional representation of the One Piece world. It is horrific tragedy with a dash of very twisted romance and fantasy. There are graphic depictions of gore, violence, and other disturbing images as well as in depth characterization of mental illness. There is sex, but it will not be loving and happy and is also not the point of the story. Expect kinks, non-consent, and same-sex scenes. Please be warned.

Also, this is not a self-insert. My characters are characters, not a representation of myself.

For those dark and twisted people like myself who haven't left yet... Welcome and I hope you enjoy!

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The first thing you must understand is that you are all wrong. There's no "Oh look at that, we're in that anime we love!" or "Wow, our favorite characters just happen to be here!" and then zippidee-doo-da everything is fine.

No. That's not what happens at all.

Let me tell you what really happens.

The first thing you see is a light. After that, imagine the worst headache you've ever felt. Double it. Then triple it. Your head feels like it splits into tiny pieces. All of a sudden, you see cracks in the air. If you are particularly unlucky, you can hear the voices. Then a pull. Ever realize that you're being pulled into an abyss, and that you're about to die? Yeah. I hadn't, either. I panicked and screamed.

If fate really wants to fuck you over, you are with your loved ones when it happens. You get to watch the abject horror on their faces as you are pulled towards a crack in the fucking air. Who knows what they actually see; all you know is that your last and strongest memory is that look of terror in their eyes.

The cracks don't disappear, by the way. You've messed with reality. They will always be there.

Again, if you are particularly unlucky, you can hear the voices. And if you are me, then fate decides to fuck you with a rusted pipe. I see the cracks. I hear the voices. I talk to them.

And they talk back.

Trust me - pray that never happens to you.

Be happy with your reality. It's a good one.

The final thing that happens is the pain. That headache that was there, that will always be there? Yeah, you'll be wishing you had that. See, I found out later that your entire body needs to be… disintegrated. Your body and soul is ripped apart, then rebuilt from scratch.

One.

Cell.

At.

A.

Time.

There's nothing that you can compare it to. I don't care how much pain you've been in. It's days of intense torture, and you don't get to puss out and faint. There's no sleeping. All the while you hear the voices, and you see the cracks, with that look of horror on the faces of your loved ones on repeat all while having your entire being remade.

Oh, and the best part? You've just been ripped from reality. There's no longer up or down. There's no light or dark. There's no color.

Have you ever taken a philosophy class? I hated philosophy. They always ask those really annoying questions that there is no answer to. The kind where they say, "What is reality?" and "How do you know what's real?"

The truth?

You don't.

Needless to say, I think that my going insane was a justifiably normal reaction.


	2. Chapter 2

The island was picturesque.

It was a beautiful, warm, breezy day. There were tiny spots of white clouds doting the blue of the sky. As the wind played with the lapping waves, it would caress the skin of those lucky enough to be on the beach with a refreshingly gentle chill. The ocean itself was calm, just gliding along the slow incline of the white, sandy beach. This was a spring island, with relatively mild climates for the Grand Line.

Doflamingo took another sip of his pink, fruity drink, quite happy with the breeze as he breathed in the salty air. Even within the castle, the air was perfect. He had taken off his feathered coat, keeping his regular white shirt and colorful capris instead. He sat in his window as he considered his recent plans. With the sale of three mermaids in Sabaody in the last two weeks, business was good. But it would not last forever. Ever since Fisher Tiger had rescued those slaves years ago, the Human Auction business was on a slow but steady decline. He had long suspected that it would not remain forever. And as lucrative as the business of creating war to sell weapons was, he needed more.

The Joker needed an edge.

There was a tweeting out his window, as a few birds whipped passed singing contentedly. Doflamingo's grin widened sadistically. All it took was a twitch of his fingers.

As the feathers fell to the grass below, it painted the bricks of the walkway in red.

Red was a good color. Doflamingo quite liked red. Red and pink. The colors of blood and flesh.

The recent kidnapping of a neighboring King's daughter was one of Doflamingo's favorite plans of late. Spreading her mutilated body all over the border of their rival tribe's land was inspired. She'd been fun while she lived. Sadly, Doflamingo had a rough way with lovers — they never seemed to last.

His grinned widened at the memory of her screams.

His senses pricked. He turned around to face the thrones of his executives.

Nothing.

No. He senses were never wrong.

Doflamingo stood as he looked again. He set his drink down on the windowsill. There was something behind the heart throne. Twitching his fingers, Doflamingo trapped it with his strings and pulled tight.

He frowned. Something had gotten passed his guards. He would have to have a talk with them later.

"Doffy!" Trebol walked into the room with a couple of guards. "Doffy! There is an order for more weapons from the Pina Kingdom in the South-"

Doflamingo held up a single finger to silence his long-time companion. Trebol made a disgruntled noise, but kept his silence. One of the guards, with a view of the backside of the heart throne, made a noise in the back of his throat between a squeak and a gasp.

Interesting.

Doflamingo put on his signature grin as he stalked to the other side of the Heart throne. With one hand on top, he leered over the intruder with a menacing sneer.

A girl. A fucking girl had wandered pasted his guards.

No, scratch that. This was a woman. Assassin?

No.

She was pretty. Long blonde hair, cute button nose with a dusting of freckles. Her clothes were plain, just a pair of jeans with a white blouse. Her shoulders were broad for a woman, waist narrow, hips large. A regular hottie - even though her breasts were too small and her jaw too strong to be considered a true beauty. Doflamingo squatted beside her, realizing that she was mumbling. That's when he noticed the eyes.

He stopped grinning.

They weren't blue or brown or green. They were a mix. A person with multi-colored eyes. It wasn't something Doflamingo had ever seen before. No, he'd never even heard of it.

The second thing he noticed about the eyes was their lack of focus. They darted around the room without ever actually touching on anything, seemingly delirious. It certainly matched her speech pattern.

"Apples… gone… I-I no, you. Dragon and feathers. Ryuu Ryuu Ryuu. Hat. Die. Fire. Die. I died. No more pancakes, I'm full."

Well. This wasn't acceptable.

Doflamingo grabbed her by the roots of her hair, not even attempting to be gentle. He pulled her head towards his, trying to force eye contact. But the delirious girl was proving to be stubborn, and didn't even notice his rough treatment of her hair. Seeking to change that, Doflamingo used his grip to smash her head into the back of the chair that she was tied to. Her mumbling paused, and there was now a small frown on her face. She blinked twice, but she was still unfocused.

Doflamingo's grin returned, more sinister than before. He undid the strings on her body that tethered her to the chair. Using the grip on her hair, he threw her at the wall, cracking the marble behind her. A gasp escaped her as the wind was knocked from her body. He used his superior strength to hold her by her hair as he put his other hand around her throat. It seemed to get her attention. Her gaze still looked a little out of focus, but she saw him. Her hands reached for the hand at her throat.

"How did you get here?" His tone was dark, his smile sinister enough to make even the most veteran of his executives quake.

Ah, the tears. Doflamingo's grin only widened as the tears started flowing down her face. It was admittedly a good look on her, but Doflamingo had always been partial making women cry. He shifted his hold from her neck to her chest, pressing her into the cracked wall, but keeping his firm grip on her hair.

There was a pause in the air, as her eyes focused more. The silence was punctuated by her gasps for air, and the cracking of the wall as more pieces fell off. Doflamingo's patience was beginning to wear thin when she spoke.

"You… You see me?"

That wasn't what he expected. Her eyes changed from fear to a manic happiness.

"Please! Please!"

He cracked her head against the wall again as he sneered. He was disappointed. He was expecting a little more fire, and a little more entertainment before she begged for her life-

"Please kill me!"

Well. Doflamingo's eyes narrowed. "Not until you answer my question. How. Did. You. Get. Here?" With every word he punctuated it by using the grip on her hair to pull back and slam her head into the wall.

"Please, the voices, I hear them, all of them, the voices, no more. No more voices. I don't want the voices." She seemed entirely unfazed by the cracking of her head against the wall. Doflamingo snarled as he leaned in closer.

"ANSWER ME."

"The voices, the voices, they can't, they won't… The dragon. The fire. The fire will die."

Doflamingo paused. That last sentence seemed oddly out of place. Her voice had gone from overly emotional to monotone, eyes from pleading to blank. Almost like-

"The fire dies, but the will... the will lives."

Hm. Something to think about, surely. There was a faint smile on her lips now, as she began maniacally muttering, "Smiles. Always smiles. Smiles. Smiles."

Now this gave Doflamingo pause. Smiles. That idiot Caeser Clown had just contacted him about something called Smiles.

Her voice regained it's emotion. "Please, please, kill me, I'm begging you. I wanna go home, I just wanna - Eric, kill me, I want Eric, I-"

Doflamingo sneered. "With pleasure."

Without another word, he used his strings to decapitate the raving woman. The spray of blood dirtied his glasses and clothing. For the second time in less than an hour, his world was painted with red.

Belatedly remembering the guards and Trebol, Doflamingo gestured to the mess he'd just created. "Clean this up. Trebol, I am sure that you can take care of that order. I need to go clean up." Trebol just smiled his same goofy smile. As Doflamingo passed him, he spoke softly, "And kill my guards."

"Will do, Doffy! Heh, heh, heh, heh!" His peculiar laugh would send shivers down the spine of any sane man.

Doflamingo merely grinned as he began to stalk down the corridor towards his room, thinking about the strange encounter. Those eyes were not natural. It was not a normal phenomenon to have more than one color in your eyes. Two eyes with two colors was odd, but having flecks of different colors in the same iris was unheard of.

He paused briefly in his walk. Maybe he shouldn't have killed her. He could have muzzled her and sold her. Grinning, he continued his walk. Too late now. Besides, Doflamingo never had regrets about killing anyone. Particularly not insane women who sneak up on him.

Doflamingo turned his thoughts to his earlier conundrum. The war business was definitely doing well. He figured he could start renting out mercenaries. It would certainly bring in a profit, but it was below the means of the Joker. Doflamingo had carefully crafted his position of power. Cheap tricks like mercenaries for hires was below him, and he knew it.

Briefly, he considered taking over countries and selling them to the highest bidder, but just as quickly rejected the idea. The government was giving him free reign currently, allowing him to build his business. Even _they_ would object to him selling multiple countries off auction style. Besides, not enough people with enough money to make it worth the trouble. Then there was the report that he'd gotten from Caesar; he hadn't read anything besides the title of the proposition - Smiles.

That girl. She was raving and insane, but something about what she just said nagged at him. Caesar Clown was a genius in his own right. Caesar Clown was known for his poisons and chemical warfare in the underground. But this had been something new. Doflamingo was the only one aware of Caesar Clown's divergence from his usual mayhem. So why would the girl have known?

Then again, she was insane. She probably didn't.

Probably.

Smiles. He scoffed.

Doflamingo continued his plotting in his room as he washed his face and changed his shirt. His rooms consisted of a suite, with a large bathroom, bedroom, living room and study. Walking to the study, he leant across the desk to find what he was looking for. He grabbed the papers with Caesar's proposal and began to read more in depth on his plans. He'd not gotten the chance to read the material from the mad scientist yet, and as he read he began kicking himself for not having done so sooner.

Devil fruits. That genius had discovered a way to make fucking devil fruits.

Smiles.

Doflamingo was regretting having killed the insane woman.

Doflamingo never regretted anything.

That's when he heard the first scream.

Looking up from what he had been reading, Doflamingo set it back down on his desk. His features pulled into a frown as he opened his door and stepped into the hallway. Guards rushed passed his door as they ran towards more screams.

Doflamingo's frown deepened. These weren't the screams of dying men. The rest of the building was far too quiet for that.

Doflamingo started down the hallway towards the panic of the soldiers. He realized that they were congregating around the entrance to his throne room.

Curious.

"…zing grace, how sweet the sound…"

There was a collective gasp from the group. One soldier had turned and was throwing up in the corner. This gave Doflamingo pause. These men were hardened veterans. As much as he may detest their weaknesses, they didn't scare easily.

"…a wretch, like me…"

That voice. He recognized it. No, wait that was impossible.

The men stepped out of the way quickly as Doflamingo reached the doorway.

Well now, he wasn't expecting this.

The girl was alive. She was completely naked, cradling something in her arms as she sang quietly. The sunlight filtered in, her pale skin almost sparkling in the light. Doflamingo could still smell the fresh sea breeze as it wafted through the window. The curve of her back and ass as she sat on her heels was certainly a pleasing sight.

"..once was lost, but now I'm found.."

It was serene.

"…blind, but now I see.."

Almost.

Then you realized that she was holding her own decapitated body in her arms. The body had been ripped open, her ribcage protruding from the desecrated flesh. The girl herself was painted red in the blood. In her hand, a white bone, assumedly from the former body's protruding ribcage, was being used to stab herself in the heart. Repeatedly.

Her song was punctuated by the sound of stabbing flesh, the roll of the waves, and the slight gasp as she stabbed herself. The smell of the ocean now mixed with the iron of the blood and a hint of vomit from behind him. The puddle of blood was quite large. Belatedly, Doflamingo realized there were two more dead bodies - the guard's he had asked to clean up the mess. The question of their demise was answered by the strikingly large holes in their chests.

She had punched straight through their bodies.

The mess of guts on the thrones of the executives was more pleasing than Doflamingo cared to admit.

He always did like red.

Folding his arms and leaning against the frame, Doflamingo watched as she continued to absentmindedly stab herself while singing.

"…and Grace my fears relieved…"

It was not one that he'd heard before.

"… The hour, I first believed…"

She must have grown back her entire body from just her head. Was it a devil fruit power?

"Smiles. It's all Smiles."

Yes, yes, those smiles that Caesar had-

Wait. Did she just-

"…Bright shinning as the sun…"

His grin widened. He decided he didn't want her hurting herself anymore. Besides, he was curious. She had to be a devil fruit user of some kind. Would there be scars on her skin from her decapitation?

Walking up behind her, he gripped her wrist on the upswing with a crushing force. He felt the bones crunch. It was a pleasing sound, and caught her attention. It seems the only thing that would catch her attention would be pain.

Interesting.

"Oi, oi, oi. Didn't I already kill you?"

The look on her crying face - that agonizing anger, rage, even betrayal. Oh how Doflamingo relished this look. He decided abruptly that this was his favorite look on her.

"You." She seethed out between her teeth. "You were supposed to kill me."

"You were supposed to die."

The punch was fast, but not fast enough. The arm that had been previously cradling her former body swung backwards to backhand Doflamingo's kneecap. Catching it with his other hand, he was sure she would have done some serious damage if he hadn't used haki.

Using conqueror's haki, he impressed his will onto the girl. Abruptly, she backed off and began to shake, fear replacing anger in her exotic eyes.

She began to quietly sob, resuming her muttered begs for death. Changing their position, he forced her to stand, turning her to face him. She was still covered in blood, but her wounds were gone. Switching his grip to hold both wrists in one hand as he held her up, he used his now free hand to brush away at the blood on her chest where she had sat there stabbing herself. But the wounds were no where to be found. There wasn't even a scar to show for her troubles.

Looking down, her previous body in all of it's gory mess was still there. All of the wounds after her decapitation remained.

More interesting.

He wondered exactly how good her regeneration was. Could she be brought back from a single finger? Could anything kill her? Sea prism stone most likely. Or would that even work? Was this really the power of a devil fruit?

She was still muttering nonsense. Doflamingo wanted anwsers. He looked her dead in the eyes. "Stop."

She stopped. He had her attention again, but who knew how long that would last. Her eyes were still clouded over with a vagueness that seemed characteristic of her particular brand of insanity.

"What color are your eyes?"

To be honest, it was the most burning question he had. They were a rare gem. She was a rare gem.

"H…hazel," her response was tired and shaky. He grinned.

"Good girl. I'm going to keep you. No more killing yourself." He drew her in closer. They were nose to nose, so she could see the truly evil look in her eye. "I reserve that right for myself."

Her eyes focused sharply. "Do… Doflamingo."

His grin slipped. "Yes. I am Doflamingo."

"Shi-shichibukai. Doflamingo."

He frowned. He was growing impatient.

"But… You aren't real."

His free hand that had lingered on her chest pointed a finger at her. Menacingly, he whispered, "Bullet string." Four shots to her stomach. Even if she healed, the damage from the stomach acid would cause a lot more pain that a mere shot to the heart.

The whimper proved his point.

"Which devil fruit did you consume?"

She looked confused. He shot four more times, all aimed towards the stomach. She wiggled as she tried to get out of his grip.

"Answer me. Girl." The veins in his forehead deepened with his displeasure at being made to wait.

"I-I…"

Her look was still confused. She seemed to see him - really see him - for the first time. "I didn't."

Well there goes that possibility. Immortality wasn't exactly handed out, and the only-

Ah. Of course. She's had the surgery.

She seemed to slowly digest the fact that he was, in fact, the Shichibukai. The famous Donquixote Doflamingo. Confusion to horror to disbelief ranged on her face. It wasn't as nice as the anger from before. This just brought up more questions. How did she get in here? Why? And who performed the Eternal Youth Surgery on her? It couldn't have been Law, so it must have been a user before Law. This meant that her age could be anyone's guess, but her uses were innumerable.

If it were true, if she really was a recipient of the Surgery, he would be able to see for sure any weaknesses or issues before forcing Law to preform it on himself. He would find Law. Law would perform the surgery and die, or be tortured brutally until he died. Perhaps both.

It had been a few years. The boy had not been seen since Doflamingo had killed Corazon. He had disappeared off the face of the planet. But Doflamingo knew he was alive. He had a gut feeling.

Gazing again at the girl hanging by her wrists as she looked at him in a seemingly dawning realization, he grinned again. He hadn't realized he had stopped.

"You're mine."

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Song is Amazing Grace.

If you're reading this, drop a quick review. I'd like to know your thoughts. :)


	3. Chapter 3

The air was dark and stormy. The waves were relatively calm for the Grand Line, but Law knew that they would not last. They would need to submerge soon to avoid the coming hurricane.

Absentmindedly, Law cleaned his dirty blade with a rag from his back pocket before tossing the rag on the bloodied deck. The remainder of the rival pirate crew was tied up on the deck, watching him with hate-filled eyes as his crew members emptied their ship. Law was unconcerned. He was leaving them on a ship with a broken mast, without food or water in the middle of the Grand Line, down to only only twenty living members from two hundred or so.

Even if they did survive, Law admitted that he would be excited to see them attempt revenge.

It was a bad habit, he knew. As fearsome as his reputation, he never killed everyone on the ships he attacked. He needed some to live to spread his name. If they were all dead, then there wouldn't be anyone to tell of the demon of a man that had killed them, and that simply wouldn't do. Law had carefully planned his emergence as a prominent figure in the pirate world. At this point, he needed to make a name for himself - a name that would strike terror into his victims without him even lifting a finger.

Still, it was a bad habit. One of these men might kill him one day.

Taking a look a their saddened state, he smirked. It was unlikely. 13 year old Law could have killed them.

Then again, not every 13 year old boy had been trained by Doflamingo.

The thought of Doflamingo made Law feel burning hatred as a sneer unconsciously made it's way onto his face. He took a deep, steadying breath, focusing on his surroundings as he shoved the hatred down. The distant call of a seagull, the lap of the waves, a distant roll of thunder, the smell of the salt water…

The shaking, sobbing mess of pirates left alive told Law just how terrifying his momentary lapse in control had been for them. He schooled his face into a lazy grin as he approached the captain of the pirates. Crouching lazily, his sword sheathed and resting on his shoulder, he looked the man in his eye.

The other Captain stared stubbornly at the floor, the picture of defeat. His brown jacket was torn and stained with blood. A cut above his eyebrow bled sluggishly, coating his mustache that had given him his pirate namesake in bloody goo as it coagulated on his face. His shoulder was clearly dislocated, and probably caused the man great pain while his hands were tied to his back. He was pathetic, and he knew it.

Law agreed, absentmindedly. For the Captain to live while two hundred crew members died? He was a failure, and both men knew it. Law could at least respect that the man knew.

"Shachi."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Leave a day's food and water for these men in the hull. Bring me some medical supplies." This caught his fellow Captain off guard. He looked up to stare Law in the eye for the first time, the disbelief evident on his face. Inwardly, Law laughed maniacally. This man thought Law was showing him pity.

"Yes, sir!"

Another of the men that had been tied up sputtered angrily. "O-oi! You - you fucking monster. First you kill all of our crewmates, you steal all our supplies and now you're giving us pit-"

"Shut up, Jim." The other Captain's voice had been raspy with dehydration. The command was quiet, but firm. The other man closed his mouth.

Law's eyes had never left his fellow Captain's face. His lazy grin widened, showing his teeth in a predatory grin. There was a glint in his eyes.

"This isn't pity, is it?"

"No," Law replied, his voice level and calm. "It's a trade."

The confusion on the other man's face was almost endearing.

"Room."

Horror now replaced confusion. The other captain had stiffened, his own eyes not leaving Law's level gaze.

"Mes."

The other Captain's eyes rolled back as he slumped over. Law reached behind the now unconscious man, plucking the heart from the deck where it had fallen. Pulling his hat slightly over his eyes as he rested his nodachi on his shoulder, Law tossed the heart in his hand, turning to the completely horrified crew members of the rival ship. He made sure that they could see that the heart was still beating. One crew member fainted. Another one vomited into his own lap. The stench wafted over the smell of blood from the deck.

As much as Law enjoyed torturing people, there was something special about psychological torture. Breaking someone's body was nothing compared to the thrill of crushing their mind.

"Captain!"

Looking up, grin falling slightly from his face, Law looked at Penguin. The man had been tasked with helping Bepo ransack the other Captain's quarters for useful materials. The look on the man's conveyed everything that he was clearly failing to aptly say in words.

He was spooked.

Law frowned, taking a glance at the living crew members. Several had visibly paled. One had a look of terror on his face that was clearly not caused by Law. Another cursed under his breath.

The cursing one. Law's eyes snapped towards the man. He studied the man momentarily, reading his facial expression. They'd been hiding something from Law. Law pocketed the Captain's heart, a scowl marring his features.

Law didn't like surprises.

Grabbing the cursing man by a shoulder wound that was still bleeding sluggishly, Law hauled him to his feet. The grimace of pain did nothing to calm the fury behind Law's smile. He purposely dug his fingers into the wound, digging until he hit bone.

Law really didn't like surprises.

Without speaking a word, he dragged the man towards the Captain's quarters, following the mute Penguin into the darkened room. When the door closed behind him, he dropped the cursing man onto the ground where he stayed. From the amount of blood that he'd lost and Law's rough treatment, Law knew that would probably vomit from pain and the dizziness that accompanies bloodloss, and Law didn't want to wash vomit off of his clothes again. The stench was difficult to get out.

Besides, as cruel and conniving as the sadistic Surgeon of Death was, he was surprisingly fastidious. Well, except for blood. He liked blood. Even if he would spend an hour scrubbing in the shower afterwords to remove it from his skin. And of course, he liked a few other choice body fluids. Alas, stomach acid was not one of those.

The room was dark despite the wall of windows on the far side. It was a rather traditional Captain's quarters layout with luxurious furniture. Closest to Law, there was a seating area with sofas and sea-worthy bookshelves. Several books had been pulled off of the shelves, as evident by conspicuous holes in the collection. A little further in sat a classy dinning table with an ostentatious chandelier - standing out from the rest as not traditional. In the back, a large, dark, wooden desk faced towards the door that Law had entered. The windows lit the desk and the papers in a muted gray. Bepo was going through the papers thrown around on the desk. He looked up when Law entered the room and gave his Captain a nod.

"Penguin," Law prompted.

Penguin fiddled with his blood-stained boiler suit, and pointed to a door off to the side. If this followed the same layout as most pirate ships, this would be a bedroom for the pirate Captain. The door was slightly ajar already, and Law could hear something from beyond it. Law's eyes narrowed. He stepped cautiously closer to the room, and pushed the slightly ajar door open.

"...Ding, ding, ding, the witch is dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead, dead..."

The was a chain connected to the wall. The chain was short, maybe a hand length long. It was connected to a collar, snuggly fit around the neck of a young woman. It looked like the chain was barely holding to the wall, as if some massive force had pulled it near to the breaking point but not quite. Law clutched his sword tighter, immediately on the defensive. It would not do for Law to underestimate someone now. His face remained calm as he continued to study the woman - if you could call her that.

"Devils, devils, smiling devils, fire, die, die, die, die…"

Her blonde hair was well cared for and clean - in parts. But closer to her face and neck it was matted with old blood - the flaky kind that meant it had been there for days. Her face was forgotten in the attempts to clean her. Dried blood was caked around her mouth. It was unclear if it was her own.

"..Wake up, wake up, wanna, Eric, dickless, spineless, asshat, pineapples, food, no more tea, I'm so full…"

Her mutterings seemed nonsensical. The tone in her voice went from absent, to raging anger to polite happiness. She hadn't noticed that Law was there. Slowly, he forcibly relaxed his stiffened limbs as he continued to study her. The collar looked old, but it must be new to her. There was no blistered or scarred skin from the weight of it on her delicate neck. She wore a full straight-jacket, with chains wrapped around the jacket itself. Her legs were pinned to the floor with more chains, preventing her from moving from her seated position. She was unnaturally thin, the kind that comes from a patient refusing food. Considering her obvious lack of clarity, Law considered it was only natural.

Honestly though, she didn't looked like she minded.

"… no more, no more, my body, not consent, bad 'mingo..."

Law immediately stiffened again, unsure if he heard her right.

"…Smiles, smiles, devil, ryuu, hat, hat, the king to a hat…"

He noted her ramblings. There was more to this. These weren't as nonsensical as he had originally thought.

Or maybe he was fooling himself.

She began giggling, the smile not quiet reaching her unfocused eyes.

" …'mingo, 'mingo, 'mingo… naughty, naughty, naughty... kill, I'll kill... All for not... Smiles. All... World burn, toil and trouble, rumble, rumble, rumble. Water. Water kill dragon…"

Law pulled himself away, turning back to the man he had brought with him. The man starred stubbornly at the floor after having sat up. Mentally, Law applauded the man. He obviously had mental fortitude that the rest of the crew did not. Too bad it wouldn't help him. Law stalked over to the man, every step deliberate intimidation.

Bending down to rest on one knee, Law used a single finger to tilt the man's eyes up to his own. There was pure hatred in the man's eyes, yes - but underneath was an element of fear and scorn.

The man was not afraid of Law. He was afraid of something else.

Law pulled out the other Captain's heart from the pocket in his hoodie. "Have you ever squeezed a heart, pirate-ya?"

The man stiffened, his eyes focused on the heart in Law's hands.

"Let me tell you from experience. There are few things more painful than having such-" Law squeezed the heart gently, "-an important organ hurt." Outside the door, there was a bloodcurdling scream as Law increased pressure on the heart. Smirking as the man's face drained of color, he released the heart.

"Who is she?"

The man hesitated as he glanced directly into Law's eyes. Law waited. He was patient.

Besides, he could already see the defeat in the man's eyes as he glanced back at his Captain's erratically beating heart.

Law knew. This man would never crack under the pressure of his own pain. But his Captain's? Law had seen the concern flickering in his eyes on the deck when Law had originally approached the rival Captain. It was much stronger than just a normal Captain-subordinate reaction.

Times at sea were so lonely, after all.

"Sh-" the man clenched his jaw, self-hatred permeating his face. "She belongs to the Joker. We're supposed to deliver her for him."

Law couldn't believe his luck. He schooled his features, keeping his face blank and his tone level.

She belonged to the Joker. In what way? Would he come for her? Remembering her ramblings and the dried blood, Law knew exactly in what way she "belonged" to the Joker.

"Why are you delivering her?"

"H-he had to go to some meeting or another. They were on our last island together, so we're going to deliver her to Dressrosa."

Law frowned. He already knew about Dressrosa, that was nothing new. There must have been some meeting called of the Shichibukai. Inwardly, he scoffed at Doflamingo's arrogance. Had he assumed that the woman would be safe with these pirates?

Oh, he was so very wrong.

The man paled further, seeing the look on Law's face. "N-no, please, please, you can't- he'll do more than just kill us, he'll-"

Law silenced the man with a look. "Why the restraints?"

"B-because she tries to kill herself without them. W-we're supposed to deliver her without a single hair-"

"Harmed from the top of her head, I assume?"

The man was quiet, his breathing shallow and shuddering. He was going into shock from blood loss. Law knew he didn't have long with the man. He had nicked an artery when using his fingers to forcefully explore the man's arm bone earlier.

"How important is she?"

"V-very."

There was a pause here. Law considered his options. He was more than equipped to handle one insane young woman. Vaguely he remembered the look of that chain in the wall. He would have to be very careful with her. The doctor in him prioritized his questions as the life began draining from the man before his very eyes. He might live. Well. Might have.

"She's chained up. How do you care for her?"

"… She doesn't n-notice us. We just put food in her mouth and she eats, take her to the bathroom… H-her body functions or something. But-" the man glanced back to the heart in Law's hand, "she… only the Captain touched her. She ha-has a tendency to…"

Law's eyes narrowed. The man was fading, and fast. Glancing at his arm, he noticed that it was beyond repair now. He could see the flickers of fear. Even while dying, this man was terrified of the crazy woman chained in the other room. Law smirked slightly at the thought. He always did like a good challenge. He could tell from the look on the man's face that she had been violent to more than just herself.

Law was particularly glad he had heard the man's curses. He might have survived if he hadn't, but the information was priceless. He had no doubt that this man had seen more than he was meant to, knew more than he was meant to. Captains with repeated lovers always risked so much.

So. A self-harming, psychopathic, schizophrenic who has been repeatedly raped by Doflamingo, and who he would be sorely missing. Law remember the string of lovers that Doflamingo would have during his early adolescence. He remember the bruises and scars that he left them. Even the occasional dead body. Law very much doubted that the man had changed in the eleven years since Law had left. There was a lot that this could mean. Would he care enough to chase after her? Law couldn't ransom her, that was for sure. Her mutterings seemed like nonsense, but Law's instincts were telling him that there was more to it than that.

She had mentioned Doflamingo. She had some grasp of reality.

He might have let his guard down around her. She might know something. Law's eyes narrowed.

If nothing else, the thought of Doflamingo losing his toy and throwing a fit was more than enough to compensate for the trouble.

Abruptly, he realized the man had died. Slumped back against the wall, eyes, still openly staring at the heart in Law's hands. Law looked back at it, considering. If she was important enough for Doflamingo to come after her, Law wasn't ready to face him yet. As powerful as he was, Doflamingo would decimate his crew. They were too young, too naive. There were too many pieces to uncover. The wars, the petty crime, the slavery - Law had known about that. He had tracked most of Doflamingo's business over the years. Well, as best as he could while in hiding, anyway.

But the last five years Doflamingo's moves had become seemingly erratic. Lab materials that wouldn't go for much on the market, an occasion shipment of herbs…

Doflamingo had something important that he had discovered. Law needed to know more.

He hated surprises.

But this was a good surprise, he supposed.

He needed to leave no trace. This ship would have to go. The crew couldn't be left alive. No one could know he was here.

Absentmindedly, he crushed the heart in his hand.

"Captain? What do you want to do about the girl?" Penguin was eyeing the crushed heart in Law's hand. Law smiled lazily, dropping the remains on the ground as he stood slowly and turned to face Penguin.

"Change of plans, Penguin. We're sinking this ship. Take everything of value, leave nothing behind. Behead the remaining crew. No one can be left alive."

Penguin nodded sporting a grin on his face. "Aye aye, Captain! Girl, too?"

Law shook his head, wiping his hand on a couch beside him. "We're taking her with us."

"C-Captain?"

Law looked back at the young man. "Trust me. Get James. I'll transport her to the brig using my Room. Tell James to toss a couple of rocks where we will need to be. Tell him to bring chains. I hear she can get a bit… feisty."

"A-aye aye, Captain!"

As Penguin walked out the door to the open air, a sense of urgency and foreboding washed over Law. Bepo sniffed the air from the other side of the room, and stuffed a bunch of maps into his satchel in a hurry. "Captain! Captain! The storm!"

"I see it, Bepo. Tell the men to hurry."

"Aye aye, Captain!" The bear ran out the door with his new collection of books and maps that he'd stolen from the Captain's quarters. It seemed to be a fruitful haul for both man and mink this time. Causally, Law readjusted his sword on his shoulder, and walked back to the doorway to watch his new captive.

"…Water, the water, storm…"

She seemed to continuously switch between happy, insane giggling, terror, anger… it was as if she was having conversations. Her eyes kept moving about the room, focusing on odd points in the air with every partial phrase or sentence. Law briefly wondered what she saw. How did the world look through her eyes?

"… No more tea, mister bumpkins. Smiles. Always smiles. Dot, dot, dot, home, home, homeward I go, water, storm, danger…"

His eyes narrowed. She was glancing in his direction when she said danger and storm. Did she sense the impending storm?

So many questions, and no way to know. Not yet, anyway.

She was broken, psychologically speaking. But Law was a doctor, and a damn good one at that. He would piece her back together just enough to make sense of the puzzle. Then he would destroy her.

"…Will, the will survives…"

How would Doflamingo react upon seeing his play-thing torn into bits and strewn around the Grand Line?

"… fire will die, die, die… king, must find, must help… piece… We are… cruise…"

Abruptly, Law was glad that Bepo had left. Even his oldest friend would have run at the sadistic grin on Law's face in that moment.

Law held his hand open, creating his Room quietly, knowing that she would probably not even notice the change.

"Shambles."

He wasn't expecting the ear-piecing shriek.

Nor the immediate violence.

Luckily, he had aimed right. She was in the brig, in a secure cell. James was on standby, holding the chains and looking on in horror as the girl slammed herself repeatedly against the bars.

"NO! NO! NOT AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN! DON'T WANNA! NO MORE!"

At this point, the speech devolved into screams. Mildly, Law was impressed at how hard she was hitting the bars even with her body completely tied up in her straight-jacket. She had hopped to the bars and was throwing herself against them. Briefly, Law heard a loud crack, and he knew that she had broken something. Law looked back at James. The man specialized in fighting with poisons, and always had sedatives on his person. He briefly inclined his head towards the girl as he turned, using his Room to go back to the deck of his precious submarine. Unsheathing his sword, he looked at Shachi.

"Is everyone accounted for?"

Shachi nodded briefly. "Yes! Everyone who was alive has been decapitated, sir! We, uh… brought the left-over supplies back to the ship. You know… since they won't be needing them. Sir!" Shachi smiled goofily at his own joke.

The waves had increased in size. Law's own ship was beginning to rock dangerously. Briefly, he thanked himself again for the submarine. In the depths, a surface storm like this would never bother him or his crew.

Law grinned absently at the boat in front of him, swinging his sword and slicing it into ten pieces before dissolving his room. He watched as the pieces of the boat began to sink into the abyss. "Time to dive."

Turning, he walked inside first as Shachi securely shut the door behind him, before turning and speaking into a pipe to the navigation room. He heard Bepo confirming as the sub began to dive into the ocean below.

Choosing to go to his own offices, he absentmindedly twirled a scalpel in his hand that he had retrieved from his back pocket, and thought of all the ways he was going to cut his new toy. He grinned.

Perhaps, if she was useful enough, he would even numb her some of them.

Maybe.

Probably not.

His grin widened as he remembered her screams from the brig and he disappeared into his quarters.

/././././././././././././././././././././././

Drop a note for me, please. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Law had to applaud James. It seems that she was not easy to handle.

He had sedated her, but it took twice the dose of a grown man to have any effect, and three times as much in order to calm her enough to chain her up.

The position was great, too. She was seated with her back to the wall of the adjoining cells, body completely chained to the bars of her cell. A pair of horizontal bars held her chains in place - one at her eye level, the other six inches above the floor. She absentmindedly hit her head against the bars, just enough to hear a quiet knock in the otherwise silent room.

"… up all the crew…"

She had given up her usual ramblings in favor of singing. It was something that seemed to scare his crew more than just the ramblings. Thus, Law was down here alone.

"… time to ship out Bink's brew…"

Well, not entirely alone, he mused.

But then again, she wasn't exactly there.

"… to where? Smiles…"

For now, he planned. He was seated with his nodachi resting on the ground next to him. Seated with his legs crossed, his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward as he studied her. She still didn't see him. Still didn't notice his existence. That would change soon. Her body needed food. He was going to make sure she ate it.

"… the King will be your guide…"

Law frowned slightly. She was changing the words in the song. He'd noticed a pattern. She seemed to repeat a few specific phrases. The first was smiles - although the meaning could be anyone's guess.

"… across the ocean's tide…"

The second was the King. She always mentioned a King. Was it Doflamingo? He was the King of Dressrosa. Rodger, former King of the Pirates? Again, there were many possible meanings. There were hundreds of nations with Kings.

"… rays of water far and wide…"

Ah. Water. That was the other one. That one was cut and dry at least - the ocean. He frowned. Or was it? She was locked up in a cabin, and Law doubted that she had been allowed to roam around with Doflamingo around. How important would an ocean or body of water really be to her?

"… voice sing, of cra-acked things…"

Voices and cracks. Again, another repeated mantra. Every time she spoke of the voices, fear flashed over her faces. He deduced that must be the schizophrenia. She probably thought she saw cracks and heard voices. Those must be the nightmares that haunted her mind. Well, some of them.

Law sighed as he let his head fall, rubbing his temple. This was too much. There were too many pieces to this puzzle, too many unanswered questions for it to make any sense. Even if she repeated a few words, there was no guarantee that there was any significance to them. He could very well be trying to understand something that simply would never be understood. He glanced up. She had stopped singing. Tears were rolling down her checks.

Law frowned. As much as he wanted to see her cry and scream, it meant very little if he wasn't the cause.

"… please stop. Go away. No more."

She flinched, hugging her body closer to the bars as she quietly sobbed. She was shaking.

"I want to die, please, kill me."

Law grinned as he leaned his head back against the wall. Finally, a coherent sentence. She wasn't speaking to anyone in particular it seemed. But there was something that she was afraid of. Her mind was probably creating a nightmare in the cell. He already knew her suicidal tendencies. After listening to her ramblings for the last two hours, he understood a lot about how she worked.

Law frowned suddenly, realizing something he hadn't considered before. As fragile as she was mentally, she was surprisingly strong. He guessed her size to be just above average height for a woman. Her shoulders and hips were both broad with muscle. Even so, she looked relatively… uninjured for one of Doflamingo's love slaves. He remembered the crack when she had been here earlier. It had sounded like a shoulder or an arm. Looking at her now, she seemed unaffected. It was possible that was a combination of her own mental state and the drugs, but she should be grimacing in pain.

Maybe he'd misheard.

Besides, he wouldn't want to waste medical supplies on her unless necessary. And he didn't trust any of his crew near hear to give her a check-up. He himself was cautious of approaching her.

She had already bent the bars of her cell.

She was definitely strong, there was no doubt about that. It was probably that strength that had captured Doflamingo's interest to begin with. Law's eyes traced her shaking form. Well, that strength and her other… assets.

No pun intended.

Even though her jaw was just a little too strong, she had a quality look about her. Her hair was still loose and wild, but James had clearly taken a moment to wipe the blood from her face. Law was only slightly disappointed. He did want to know if that blood was hers or not.

Law thought back to the nagging question in his mind. Doflamingo probably would have killed her already. He should have. Law frowned again. From what he knew of the man, unless he had an intense hatred for the person, he usually would kill them if they begged him to. Like she was clearly begging to be. He enjoyed killing a little too much to resist such a request. And he'd never kept a love slave for any period of time - certainly not taken them with him anywhere.

So what made her so special?

A door opened up the stairway to Law's left. The smell of a light chicken soup wafted through the air as careful, quiet steps walked down the stairs. Law stood slowly, keeping his eyes on the girl but turning his body towards James as he carried the tray down.

Law applauded his crew's bravery. By now, he had spoken to them about their newest guest. Nothing more than they needed to know - she was dangerous, mentally unstable, and she wouldn't be here long. They were not to touch her unless ordered to, and no one except Law should ever be here alone.

All of them had been uncomfortable upon receiving the orders. It was not the girl's screams or the hint of her soon demise that bothered them - she was not be the first victim to wait for Law's attentions in a cell. No. What made them uncomfortable was nothing more than the man who had chained her up. He had returned to the dining hall visibly shaken. As he reported to Law, he shook his head and informed his Captain that, as he said, "Something just ain't right."

James was a strong man in his thirties. This was not his first pirate ship, but Law's calculated actions had saved the lives of his wife and young daughter. The man would follow Law fearlessly into death. As a trained medic, he often assisted Law both in the battlefield and in the operating room. Having been on the Grand Line before, James was valued for more than just his way with poisons and his medical skills - he was a man who rarely faltered.

When asked to elaborate, James just shook his head, and said that when he had touched her, something just didn't feel right. He swore that he saw her bite off her own tongue, but then she was fine a moment later.

Law frowned. He'd just heard her talk for two hours, so clearly she hadn't bitten off her own tongue. But James wasn't one to misdiagnose, either.

James stood there patiently, used to Law's quiet demeanor as he awaited orders. Law had spent a few minutes just watching the girl as she stared vacantly off into space, muttering under her breath. The muttering was much quieter now, barely audible at all.

Law bent down and picked up his beloved nodachi. He handed it to James, trading the sword for the tray of soup and glass of water.

"I'm going to feed her. Stay here. If things go south, kill her. She isn't worth the trouble."

James nodded briefly. He moved to stand about five feet from the cell, holding his Captain's sword in one hand with his other poised in a pocket on his belt. Law smirked. He'd seen how fast James could throw those needles. As strong and fast as she might be, she wouldn't stand a chance.

There was another reason he had chosen James for this. At the moment, James was of the five crew members who could use some form of haki. His projectiles were lethal in more ways than one.

Law approached the cell with deliberate steps, fishing the keys out of a pocket. He balanced the tray of food on one hand as he opened the door outward. This cell hadn't been used in a while. The pins squeaked shrilly as he opened the door.

She didn't seem to notice.

Turning, the closed the door, the finality of the lock as it clicked into place increased the tension in the room. Law's eyes never left her face. Her eyes were closed now. She had resumed her insistent banging on the cell bar. She was singing again.

"… a-bye, don't you cry…"

It was a lullaby. Law approached her slowly, measuring her vacant face with every step.

"… little stars will see you…"

He set the tray next to her. He bent down to rest on a single knee, studying her face closely for the first time. She had a dash of freckles across her dainty nose. Her long blonde hair reached midway down her back, and covered half of her face. He focused in on her, and spoke softly. "Oi."

"Night is here, baby dear…"

He hadn't expected it to get her attention. He was less than a foot from her face now. He spoke louder this time, with authority in his tone. "It's time to eat."

"…must go to sleep… too…

She shivered violently, turning to look at the other side of the room, over Law's shoulder. Her eyes were wide in terror at the far wall. This is when Law paused. He hadn't noticed before. He hadn't been close enough, nor cared enough, to see her eye color.

Well now. That might explain her importance.

She began to struggle against the bonds, whispering, "No, no, kill me, no more."

Clearly his voice wasn't working. Law was a patient man. He was slowly building his methods to catch her attention. He reached towards her face, gripping her chin firmly as he brought her face level with his own.

For a moment, his world stopped. A jolt went through his body, electricity running from the top of his scalp to the tips of his toes. She herself jolted from the contact, but his grip on her chin remained firm.

Her eyes focused. She looked at him.

She really looked at him.

Law smirked triumphantly. He ignored the lasting tingles in his body for now as something to study later.

She seemed shocked out of her normal psychosis. She blinked slowly, gazing into his eyes. The gaze was intelligent and measured. Confusion flashed past her eyes, with a mix of horror, disbelief and the barest dash of fear.

She was reacting as someone who had just woken from a nightmare and trying to see if she was still in one.

Law's gaze was unwavering. Slowly, he reached for the cup of water. Keeping his movements slow and he gaze on her eyes, he held the cup to her mouth.

"Drink," he commanded.

She seemed to briefly consider his words, the barest hint of a frown on her face as she seemed to slowly understand what he had said. He held the cup to her lips, and she parted them to drink. She drank quickly, clearly dehydrated and belatedly realizing it. Her eyes softened as she switched her focus to the cup.

As he slowly tilted the glass for her to drink, Law frowned. He had not expected this. He had expected to have to force her to eat and drink, or for her to choke on it.

Not for her to openly accept it. Nor for the sudden focus.

Now was his chance. He didn't know if she would ever be this lucid again.

"You may leave, James." Her eyes snapped back to him as she finished the glass. She was looking at him with full suspicion now. Slowly, Law put the glass back down as he heard James walk up the stairs and shut the door behind him. He knew the man was not really gone. He would wait outside the door until Law came out, ready to burst in at a moment's notice.

He had no plans to involve his crew in his game of revenge with Doflamingo. The less the man knew, the better.

The pair in the cell studied each other. Law realized his hand was still holding her chin. Vaguely, he noticed that it was a little wet from drops of spilled water. Her eyes continued studying him as he studied her.

Those eyes. Those fucking eyes.

Law had been more places and seen more things than even an average pirate on the Grand Line. He prided himself on studying even rare medical conditions and abnormalities. But never in any sea had he heard of some that had eyes with more than one color. Her irises were green, with speckles of blue, brown and even gold.

He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"What is your name?"

She squinted, as if trying to remember. She blinked slowly, her frown deepening. She tried to look away, but he kept his fingers firmly on her chin.

"Do you know your name?"

She blinked again. She was studying him again. Her head tilted.

"I… I think it's Is."

"Is?"

"… Isabelle. Maybe."

He breathed deeply, considering her. She was clearly disoriented. He wondered how long since she had last seen her world so clearly.

"Well, Is-ya. I need you to answer a few questions for me."

She nodded into his hand, seeming to forget it was there.

"Do you know who Doflamingo is?"

She blinked, confused. "Um. Yeah. Feather guy."

He studied her intently again. Something was off, but he couldn't tell what it was. He briefly remembered James' misgivings and agreed. Something just wasn't right with this girl. He wondered if James had seen her eyes.

No. James was smart. He would have reported such an abnormality.

"Do you know what his plans are?"

She just looked at him very confused.

"Why?"

His eyes glinted dangerously. "Answer the question."

She leaned in closer, now mere inches from his face. She was searching his face for something, almost desperately.

"A-are… are you… real?"

Ah, of course. She was schizophrenic, and severely so. She had clearly lost touch with reality.

He grinned. "Why? Does that change your answer?"

She considered this. "Are you a doctor?"

"Of sorts. Is-ya, answer the question. Do you know what Doflamingo's plans are?"

She froze when he spoke her name. Her eyes widened as she looked passed his face, towards his ears, and then up to his hat. Law frowned as he watched the dawning realization on her face. She must have recognized him. His hat had been a dead giveaway.

Her breathing became erratic. Law grinned again, pleased that this time, the fear in her eyes was clearly caused by himself. He would think later on her terror stricken face, and exactly how much it pleased him.

"T-that's not possible."

"What's not possible, Is-ya?"

She was shaking violently now. "Y-you're not real. You can't be."

Law's smile turned sinister again. "And why is that?"

"B-because… i-if you… oh god."

He frowned. Her gaze was becoming cloudy again. The terror was forcing her out of her clarity.

"If you… no, if you're real then… then… oh god. No. It's not true. H-he-he…"

Law realized belatedly his mistake. She had never been lucid for Doflamingo. She'd thought he was part of her mind's created reality.

She was realizing that she was raped. Repeatedly. For who knows how long.

Fuck.

She wasn't panicking because he was there. Law snarled, releasing her chin as she began sobbing hysterically. Her body was shaking uncontrollably, and she was beginning to scream while shaking her head, almost as if telling herself "no" enough it might not be true.

Law weighed his options for a moment. He could attempt to comfort the girl. Memories of a particularly wrecked corpse after one of Doflamingo's more animated nights quickly scratched that idea. There would be no comfort for her.

In that moment, Law pitied her. She was broken.

He pushed away his pity. It wasn't helpful. He needed to end her hysterics.

He gripped her by the hair roughly, hitting her head against the bars and feeling another jolt of electricity run through his body. He pulled his scalpel from his back pocket. He held it to her face, holding it just close enough that she might feel warmth of the metal that had been resting in his back pocket. Her eyes were dilated, but she was focusing on him again. The sobs slowed.

Law realized that his expression was probably very cold. He kept his expression blank as she stared into his eyes.

Admittedly, he liked this look. The terror in her eyes. The tears were making her unique eyes more vivid than usual. The gasp that escaped her lips, the breath making his own face tingle. They were just inches apart again.

He frowned. She wasn't giving that look for him. It was for Doflamingo.

He resisted the urge to carve into her face, the chance to mar those high-cheekbones, to ruin her face and see it covered in fresh blood. Hearing her scream again, but because of what he had done. He wondered if she would still beg to die, or if she would change her tune and ask to live.

It would happen. But not yet. He still need answers.

He searched for the right words to keep her from falling back into hysteria. He need to be more cautious. He had made a mistake, and it had nearly cost him her attention. She could lose it again in a moment.

"What are smiles?"

She glanced at the scalpel in his hand. Strangely, she didn't seem as terrified as he would have liked. His eyes narrowed. Her gaze returned stare at his eyes, the terror draining from her face. She seemed to go in and out of focus again, as if she was fighting to both hold onto reality and push it away.

Her mouth moved slightly, but all that came out was a croak. She frowned, seemingly frustrated at her mouth. She seemed to completely forget about the scalpel in Law's hand.

"Sad makes smiles."

Law frowned slightly. It was something. He changed the question. "Why are smiles important?"

She smiled maniacally, and giggled. Law pulled the scalpel away before he cut her skin.

She looked at him again, "The beast. The beast. World will end. End, end, end…" She frowned suddenly, looking over his shoulder. She seemed to consider something. She stopped seeing him again.

"The King will stop it. The King will end the beast, but only with help. He needs lots of help."

Law considered this for a moment. "Who is the King?"

Her gaze slackened. She frowned and muttered, "No, no, no, can't tell him that. Too much. Not enough. What should I say?"

Clearly the voices were now telling her what she should say. Law made a mental note of the change.

She seemed to find a satisfactory answer, turned back to him and smiling. "He's my favorite. I like him more than you. You won't find him here, no, no."

"Where do I find him?"

She blinked. "Where? The King… Water. The… bubbles. Big explosion. Boom."

She had devolved. Law considered this. He still had gotten lots of information to consider over the next few days.

"It's time to eat," he said firmly. He place the scalpel on the ground beside him, releasing her hair and reaching to grab the spoon in the bowl. His eyes left her face for the briefest instant as he pulled away from her, adjusting his position slightly.

"… Eat," she repeated slowly.

He scooped some broth into the spoon, turning back to her face, only to see her staring at him again. Her eyes were clear again. He paused for a moment, before pushing the spoon to her lips. "Open," he commanded. She obliged, swallowing the spoonful before he replaced the spoon to the bowl.

"Are you really Law?"

He considered her for a moment, before nodding slowly. Before she could react, he had put another spoonful of soup into her mouth. This time there was a piece of carrot and chicken to occupy her mouth for a moment. She seemed to chew thoughtfully as she watched him.

"How much is your bounty?"

He paused as he scooped another bite for her. The tension between them during his questioning had seemingly left. She was no longer afraid of him.

Come to think of it, Law didn't think she'd ever been afraid of him. He'd have to change that.

"… It was just increased. 200 million."

He fed her another spoonful, considering his own questions. He was growing more curious about this prisoner of his.

He still wanted to kill her. He wanted to carve his scalpel into her body, ripping out her organs one by one. He wanted to hear her screams, the terror in her eyes and then dump her mutilated remains on Doflamingo's doorstep.

All in due time.

He watched her carefully as he scooped out another bite. She was slipping away again.

"What color are your eyes?"

"Fred, Fred, don't do that. You can't, that's too mean. Fred, no, bad Fred. Leave the toilet seat."

She was gone again. She continued to mutter for the rest of the meal, only seeming to see Law twice more for a brief instant before withdrawing completely. At some point, she began quietly sobbing. In between each sob, she would giggle.

Law retreated into his own thoughts. Having finished the bowl of soup, he stood slowly and exited the cell. He carried the tray and empty dishes up the stairs towards his waiting crewmate. As he walked away, a voice followed him.

"Three blind men… your blind men… see how they run… see how you run… They all run after… the afterlife… I cut off your legs… with a carving knife…"

Law would never admit the shiver that coursed down his spine at the suddenly sadistic tone in her voice.

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Songs at the beginning are the English version of Bink's Sake with some changed lyrics, and Hush-a-bye. Song at the end is a convoluted version of Three Blind Mice. :)


	5. Chapter 5

Law leaned back in his chair, feet crossed at the ankles as he rested them on his desk. His fingers were laced together on his chest, his beloved hat in it's traditional corner of the desk. He had retreated to his suite to plan his next move.

The suite itself was not as large as the one on the ship where he had found the girl. He had a large desk and several bookshelves, all of darkened wood. His office floor was a plush carpet, soft on the feet and cushioning the bolts that held his furniture down. The bookshelves all had bars in front of each shelf to prevent spillage in case of turbulence, each shelf stuffed with a variety of medical textbooks, medical journals, mystery novels, and binders. They were also organized by both use and alphabetically by author. The binders were grouped by their own uses. There were several that contained daily and weekly written maintenance reports from his crew members, another that contained detailed note of his various surgeries on the occasional prisoner, another group with various reports from the different teams on his ship...

Law enjoyed being thorough. He was meticulous with his records.

The other side of his study was a seating area. A comfortable couch, two lounge chairs and a low coffee table. A door on that end of the room lead to his bedroom and ensuite.

The room itself was a little large and too nice for his liking originally. It had been a surprise for him from his crew members soon after the sub was created. He had been angry at first, them wasting the money on niceties for him while their own quarters were bare (except the rec room, that one was even nicer than Law's rooms), but as time wore on he was increasingly grateful for their indulgence.

Thinking back to his crew, his thoughts circled back to the enigma on board. He had ordered Bepo, James and Penguin to unchain their prisoner four times a day to relieve her needs. He'd watched the first time, of course, ready to spring into action from the shadows. She'd been remarkably docile. Her muttering never ceased, but she seemed to automatically take care of her business - as if her body was moving without her even being aware of it. He wondered if it was a result of her mental state, or conditioning from Doflamingo. Then there were the phrases: water, King, smiles, beast, fire. Law knew that there were more, but these seemed to be the most important.

Law scoffed. He was thinking too much. He should just cut into her already. She was a waste of materials, space and man-power. In the past two days he was no closer to understanding her cryptic words than he was before.

So why did the words nag at him?

The Law's grip on his fingers tightened. That jolt of electricity from when he had touched her. It excited him. In the two days since she had come on board, Law found himself starting to crave that sensation again, the way that it stopped his breath and made him shiver. And he didn't want to even get started on her eyes.

That was the other thing. Those fucking eyes. They were exotic, that was for sure. Law had poured over every medical journal and textbook he had after that first conversation only to come up empty-handed. There was not a single mention of any condition anywhere with eyes in that color. It had to be some sort of new genetic anomaly. Maybe her family was inbred and it forced a mutation that hadn't been discovered yet.

Two binders rested on Law's desk, with a notebook beside them. One notebook held every bounty poster he had come across, including his own personal notes about every member of the crew, their ships, or relevant information about their connections. The second was specifically for Doflamingo. It was filled with all the dealings Law had uncovered, as well as extensive profiles on every family executive or high-ranking member. The notebook had more notes and his own personal musings about Doflamingo's plans. Currently, it was open to a page with the words "smiles" and "sad" circled.

Of course, everything was written in his own code. No need to be stupid.

 _"Sad makes smiles."_

He had poured over all the information he had. There was no mention of the words "sad" or "smiles" anywhere.

 _Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

Law glanced to the side. He had four mini den den mushis sitting on his desk, and one regular sized one. The small ones were for his crew. The large one was for his agents.

Law had been careful. He had built himself up in the black market, making just enough purchases and showing just enough interest as to not draw suspicion, but also make solid connections in the underworld.

Connections who reported to him about Doflamingo's dealings.

 _Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

Law reached over and pulled the receiver off.

"Oi there, ya creepy bastard." Law's mouth twitched. He recognized this man's voice, and he hardly had the right to call Law creepy. Law had seen him work.

Law grabbed a pen, kicking his feet down and poised to take notes.

"What've you got?"

The man on the other end laughed. It was a laugh that would stop a normal person cold.

Law quite liked the laugh.

"Straight to tha point, as per usual, huh? Okay, okay, get this; I just got a job ta murder a senator in his home. Make it look lika robbery gone wrong and whatnot. There's a replacement all lined up already ta take the man's place. Apparently, he been doin' too much actual work. Smuggling was gettin' difficult."

"Where?"

"Stormway. You know, that science town in the North blue."

Law paused in his writing. That area was known for research and development of chemicals. Was it the drug business?

"So...?"

"You'll get your money. I'll send it along at the next island."

The man laughed again. "Knew I could count on you."

Law didn't worry about the man betraying him. He had possession of the man's heart as an insurance policy. Plus, Law would occasionally provide the man with more than just money - especially if he had more prisoners than usual.

The man was more fucked in the head than Law.

"Anythin' else?"

At this point, Law paused. His eyes lingered on the words in his notebook.

"Do you know about smiles?"

The was a pause on the other end. Law realized he was holding his breath.

"Aye. I've heard of 'em. I don't know much though, that's New World shit."

Law's heart felt like it had stopped. He almost couldn't believe his ears.

She was useful after all.

"Well?"

The man on the other end grunted. "They say it's some special weapon. Somethin' ta do with the Emperors and whatnot. I can poke around a bit, but it'll cost you."

"You'll be well rewarded for your troubles." There was a hint in Law's voice, just enough for the other man to pick up on it. He laughed again, before hanging up abruptly.

Law returned the receiver and sat back in his chair. They were real. Smiles were real. She wasn't just rambling. More than that, they were literally called Smiles.

Smiles. Some weapon in the New World for the Emperors, the four Emperors in the sea. Shanks, Whitebeard, Kaido-

Law abruptly stood up, opening a drawer and pulling out a spare map of the New World. Placing it on the desk, he started to map out every shipment he had intercepted, every piece of information he had not only on Doflamingo, but on Kaido as well.

Kaido, the strongest beast in the world.

 _"The beast. The beast. World will end."_

The pattern was suddenly unmistakable. All the shipments of seemingly random supplies were headed to the New World. There was only one ship that he had information on that had entered Kaido's territory. But one was enough. He had his theory. He just needed to confirm it.

 _"The King will stop it."_

The King. Law paused as he looked at the map. It was a map of poor quality, like most maps of the Grand Line. Without traditional navigation techniques and the hazards that came with the Grand Line, most maps were poor in quality. Of course, that didn't matter as much as the information it helped him piece together.

He studied the islands, vaguely trying to remember what the girl had said about the King. It couldn't be Doflamingo. He was too cunning to fight an Emperor. She had mentioned something about meeting this King, but he couldn't remember what she had said. He had been too dismissive, thinking she had been lost at that point, but…

He picked up the map, turning to his wall. Using his Room, he attached it to the wall behind his desk.

 _"World will end."_

Law let out a shaky breath as he leaned back against his desk, staring at the map. Whatever Smiles were, they had to be powerful.

So. Doflamingo the government dog was trading with one of the four Emperors of the Sea, possibly in an attempt to destroy the world. It certainly matched Law's profile of Doflamingo. Unfortunately, Law's information about Kaido was severely limited. He knew one or two islands that the Emperor had control of, and his epitaph.

It wasn't enough.

Holy shit. She was telling the truth.

How the fuck did she know this?

She hadn't even been aware enough of her surroundings to realize that she had been _raped_. Repeatedly. Law doubted it had been long - he had never heard of the girl before. Doflamingo had always been the type to flaunt his possessions.

Usually.

Again, a thought circled his head. What made her so special?

Doflamingo was a careful, cautious, bastard of a man. A regular love slave would never have information about his inner business dealings. Especially not something this big. If this information was true, it was enough for the government to potentially revoke his Shichibukai status. Law would bet money that not even all of the executives were aware of Doflamingo's dealings with Kaido.

Well, potential dealings. This was a hypothesis. He needed proof. He needed more information. Law clenched his fists.

He needed her.

A single conversation had given him this much information. Even if it took him days to decrypt it, he'd be damned if this wasn't farther than he'd gotten in the last two years trying to get information about the same subject. Law pushed off from his desk, walking towards the door where his beloved sword was sitting in it's stand. He plucked it from it's stand, and opened the door.

He paused for a moment. Turning, he picked up a pen and his notebook, tucking both into a pocket before exiting his room.

He would need to change the orders concerning the girl. He needed to know everything she said.

She was suddenly the most valuable part of his ship.

Information was a weapon.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law settled on the ground a foot away from her on the other side of the bars, placing his sword on the ground beside him. He had fished his scalpel out of his back pocket, twirling it absentmindedly in his fingers, his notebook open and balanced on his knee. He had spoken with James and Penguin on his way down. Both had taken over her other meals, and told Law that her muttering was mostly incoherent. She had never noticed that they were there.

This concerned Law. She had given him one shining moment of clarity. It was possible she would never be coherent again.

"You came back."

It seemed he hadn't needed to worry. Law had been ready to wait and listen to her ramblings for hours and try to piece together meanings from her ramblings. To say that her steady, coherent gaze and clear words surprised him was an understatement.

Law didn't like surprises.

Not usually.

He matched her gaze for it's intensity. He nodded.

She glanced at the hand with the scalpel. "Are you going to use that on me?"

He grinned. "That depends."

"What if I ask really nicely?" Her own grin matched Law. He was taken aback.

"Still depends."

"On what?"

Law thought carefully. This was certainly new. "You aren't afraid."

"You couldn't hurt me if you tried."

Law frowned. He had ceased twirling the scalpel, instead holding it tightly in his hand. "Doflamingo hurt you."

"That's different."

"How so?"

She frowned. "Good question. It just is."

He paused briefly, weighing his options. He didn't want the hysterics again. But then again, seeing her suffer again would be nice. "Because it was rape?"

"I don't remember it."

Now this was interesting. "You remembered it just fine last time we talked," he prodded.

"Oh. Yeah. That."

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes. That."

She tilted her head and looked up briefly, humming to herself. "That was different."

He leaned in. "So if I raped you brutally, it would be different."

She flashed a grin. "It ain't rape if it's consensual, handsome." She winked.

This was not what he had expected at all. She was flirting. Lucid and flirting.

He was wasting precious moments of her clarity on questions that honestly he didn't care about. Not in the slightest.

"Why are you so sharp?"

Law frowned. "What do you mean?"

She leaned against the bar, head tilting again in the opposite direction. She looked as if she was looking for the right words. "I mean… You're so clear. I can remember you. I don't remember anything. Only the voices and cracks are this clear."

She was asking him why she was lucid. He almost told her it was coincidence.

 _"She doesn't even notice we're there, Captain."_

 _"Her body functions, but…"_

"I don't know."

She hummed again. Then frowned. "No food this time?"

"You've already eaten."

"Ah." She didn't look convinced. "Your hat is gone."

He vaguely remembered leaving it on his desk. He had been too preoccupied to remember to wear it before coming down here. That irked him. Law never forgot details like that. He never forgot his hat.

That thought brought him full circle. "Who is the King?"

She blinked. "I'm not sure."

"No cryptic messages this time?"

She blinked again. "Oh, I was just repeating what the others were saying."

"The others?"

"Yeah. The cracks. Sometimes they talk to me. Not always though."

He paused, studying her. There were flecks of fear in her eyes, but it wasn't as pronounced as before.

Her clarity was lasting much longer than before. He wondered if she was improving.

"These cracks. What do they look like?"

She frowned. Her eyes unfocused from his face as she took a slow look around the room. He waited patiently while she seemed to try to find a way to describe her hallucinations.

"Lots of things. Sometimes I can see into them. I can always hear them. Some are nice."

"But not all?"

Her expression turned dark. She looked livid. "No. They aren't. They took me. They took away my Eric. There was a light, and then pain, a lot of pain." She began to shake. There was fear on her face, but the anger seemed to prevent the hysterics. "Those ones are bad, with the shadows and the hands that reach and reach and reach. Always reaching and whispering. Whispering words. Always hurting me, but they won't let me die, no, no, no dying for me."

He rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward, his notepad forgotten. "Why no dying?"

She continued to mutter darkly about what the shadows could do to themselves for not letting her die. The swearing and hatred in her voice was amusing, if not helpful. Law switched tactics. "Who is Eric?"

She looked back at him again, as if she had forgotten he was there. She frowned lightly, before looking away. She was confused.

"I… I don't know. He's important. Eric is Eric. He's my Eric." She looked pointedly back at Law. "You can't have him. He's mine."

"You can keep him."

That seemed to please her. He must have been a lover of hers before she snapped. She had spoken of the voices and shadows taking her. If he put that thought into reality, she must have been kidnapped and tortured, possibly by Doflamingo. It would explain her mentality. The brain did strange things when faced with torture after all.

He thought about his next question carefully, as she was probably going to lose focus any moment. He decided to bank on the fact that he would need to confirm her previous information later, and that there was more than enough for him to work with. There were other questions that this interaction raised. Specifically-

"You said I can't hurt you."

Her expression had turned blank again, eyes unfocused. When he spoke, she began to giggle, her eyes still unfocused as she looked over his shoulder. He wondered if the 'voices' has said something funny, and if he'd lost her again. Then she moved her head again, pushing her face so that it rested between the bars, eyes focused in on him. She was still smiling.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

An open invitation to mutilate her. Law grinned in spite of himself. He had thought that he wanted to see her terrified of him. He decided abruptly that he liked this more.

He relished challenges.

He asked her innocently, "I don't know what you mean." He knew his eyes were dancing with mischief.

She looked pointedly at the scalpel that was still in his hand. Her grin widened when she turned back to make eye contact with him again.

"And why would I give you what you want?"

Her grin dropped at this, her eyes glinted dangerously. She snarled at him.

She actually snarled.

His own grin widened. She was surprisingly fun to tease.

"Because I dare you to. Triple dog dare. Double dare. Wait, wrong order. Double dog dare. Dog dare. Tag, you're it."

He flipped the scalpel in his fingers, humming thoughtfully. "Why do you want to be in pain? I thought you were afraid of it."

Her face darkened again in rage. "That thing in your hand isn't pain. The shadows are pain. You don't know pain." She pause briefly, smiling again. "Besides, they don't bother me when I'm hurting."

Ah. That left Law with more questions. Pain made the voices go away, so she craved pain. But she was afraid of Doflamingo, who caused her pain. And she couldn't remember him, because she wasn't aware enough at the time. This was the opposite of a satisfying answer, leaving him with more questions than he really wanted.

"I don't think I will."

She pouted. Well, this was definitely a new experience.

"I don't feel like wasting the medical supples to patch you up afterwards."

She threw her head back and laughed, long and deep. It reminded him of the conversation on the phone earlier, the man whose laugh would scare a normal person.

She looked back at him. "You know, for someone so clever, you are so very, very stupid."

He rested his chin on one hand, while he continued to twirl the scalpel tauntingly, a lazy smirk on his face. "Oh? And why is that?"

She grinned, pushing her face back between the bars. "Chicken."

"Says the girl who is afraid of shadows."

She paused, her eyes widening as if she suddenly remember that she was afraid of shadows. She nodded quickly. "Very, very, very. Very, very, very. They're always there, they never go away, and they won't let me die." The change was abrupt and amusing to Law, tears welling in her eyes as she seemed to panic over the thought of those shadows.

Law made a mental note. He may not be scary to her, but now he knew what was.

He wondered what would happen if he turned off all the lights in the brig. He wondered if she would scream for him.

That thought turned his smile sinister. Although she didn't seem to notice. She was fading away again, hitting her head against the bars with moderate force, muttering about the cracks and not falling for their tricks. The terror in her tear-filled eyes was nice.

But Law wasn't done playing.

He reached through the bars with the hand he had been resting his chin on, grabbing her by the hair.

There it was. That jolt of electricity that he had been craving. Cooly, a part of his brain recognized it being similar to a shot of adrenaline to his system.

He gripped tighter, and she seemed to remember that he was there. "Oh. Chicken. You're back."

"I never left."

She processed this. "Right. You never left." She glanced to the side, pouting again. "Joe, you liar. You said he left."

He tugged on her hair, just enough to get her attention back. "You should ask Joe if he knows who the king is."

She frowned. "But you know him."

Now it was Law's turn to be confused. "The King who will defeat the Beast. I know him?"

She pursed her lips as she thought for a brief moment. "Maybe not. Soon, though. He's hard to forget."

"So you can see the future?"

"Knowing the future and seeing the future are two very different things."

"So you know the future, but you don't see it?"

She looked up, thinking for a second, her lips parted as she thought. "Ah… No. No, I saw it. Not yours." She frowned again. "Or did I?"

"Where do I meet this King?"

She looked at him like he was an idiot. "I already told you."

He changed tactics again. "Why so cryptic?"

Again, she looked at him like he was an idiot. She didn't answer the question this time. Clearly, she was waiting for him to make the connection.

Another thought plagued him. "You recognized me. How much do you know?"

Her expression turned thoughtful. She hesitated before answering slowly, "Are… you really real?"

It was Law's turn to look at her as if she was an idiot. She accepted the look as his answer, and grimaced. "Too much." She paused, as if trying to remember. "Maybe. Maybe nothing. I think too much, though."

He frowned. "How do you know?"

"I saw it. I think. Maybe."

This was an important question. He didn't believe in superstitions. He liked facts and statistics, not fortune-telling. If she knew too much…

Did Doflamingo know of his plans?

"What do you know?"

She tilted her head, leaning through the bars again, unaffected by his hold on her hair. Her eyes had left his, looking instead at his right cheek. Her face softened, concerned. "Did it hurt a lot?"

"Did what hurt?"

She blinked. "I'm not sure. White isn't a good color on you, though."

His grip slackened as she continued. "You looked like a vampire. Tanned is better."

She frowned, confused as he was stunned. "Hm. Where did I see that?" She seemed to forget he was there again, muttering to herself about knowing things she shouldn't. She was blaming the cracks.

Law doubted it was the cracks. There must have been a picture of his sickly self.

Still, as shocking as it was, it was his past and not his present. She made no indications of knowing what he was doing now. There was some relief in that.

"What else do the voices say?"

"Uh… they repeat a couple of things."

"What things?"

"Um… Wait… Fire. Oh, I know this one. They say, 'The fire will die but the will survives.'" She frowned. "The will. His will? Something like that. Wow. That sounds stupid."

"What do they say about water?"

"Ah… water… Oh, something… um, water ruins dragon, but only if the King succeeds. Mega lame."

She had that right at least. But Law liked the challenges. He filed those phrases away for later.

He had his fill of her for now. He released her hair, and she glanced at him as he stood to leave, taking his sword and scalpel with him.

"Wait, you're leaving?"

He grinned lazily at her as he pocketed the scalpel. "I hope you like the dark, Is-ya."

The look of utter terror on her face, and the screams as he turned off the light were better than he had originally anticipated.

He wondered if he'd ever get tired of that scream.

It was doubtful.

/./././././././././././././././././././././

Go on. Drop a review. Save a life. I'm sure that's how it works.


	6. Chapter 6

Law was in awe.

The town that they had rolled up into was relatively quiet, being of medium size with several decent inns and taverns. It was a fall island in the middle of it's own fall season. The air was cool and crisp, Law's favorite kind of weather.

Bepo was also in a good mood, despite being unable to find any female bears on the island. Anything with crisp air made Bepo happy.

After completing their respective duties, half his men hit the town while the rest stayed behind. It would take two days for the log pose to set, so the men would take turns with their debauchery. Although refusing to stay at the inn or drink with his men at the tavern, Law had taken the opportunity to visit the town's surprisingly extensive bookstore. Although medical books were not their speciality, Law spent a couple of hours pouring over different books on genetics, as well as the newest edition of one of his favorite medical journals. He even grabbed one that detailed mental illnesses.

It was as he was approaching the counter that he heard the news. Two middle aged women were in talking in front of him. One was behind the counter, clearly either the owner or an employee of the bookshop. She had a certain innocence around her that comes from living in a small town and never looking outside of it. She was currently engrossed in conversation with another woman around her age. This woman had her hair up in a bun, and was chatting excitedly. She reminded Law of a mouse that was gossiping about the cat being eaten by a dog.

"-blinded all three of them, of course-"

Law paused, listening intently.

"I heard! Such terrible news. Really, a serial killer in a town like this. Who knew that a pirate would be the one to catch him-"

"Yes, it was strange. But can you imagine? Those poor men. He'd always take three at a time, blind them and then chase them through the South Forest."

"It's just so shocking. I mean James was always a weird man, even for a butcher. But he was always so nice-"

"Oh that's not the half of it. I'd throw out my meat if I were you."

"Why?"

The other woman paused dramatically, before continuing, "The murder weapon? His carving knife. He cut off their legs and then would leave them to bleed out."

"Oh my…" The other woman made a sign against evil on her chest. She shifted her gaze and jumped. "Oh, I'm so sorry, are you…" the woman had noticed Law. He had his usual mask of indifference, and clearly intimidated both women as they started stammering and falling all over themselves trying to apologize.

He flashed them a smile. "Not a problem. The story was worth it. Is the information in an article anywhere?"

The chatty one that had been telling the story shakily pulled out a newspaper from her purse. "H-here…"

He took it from her grasp, flashing her another charismatic smile before putting his purchases on the counter and fishing out some money to pay. The shop owner only shook her head, bagging the items and shakily holding them out to him.

Law was quite impressed. Terrorize a few ships and suddenly people give you free things. Who knew.

The man took the books, but still placed cash on the table. He had more than enough to pay for the books, and had no interest in causing them any trouble.

Not yet, anyway.

While placing the money on the counter, he held the newspaper up, with a sinister smile that made both women pale visibly. This was way more entertaining than free books, anyway.

"Keep the change."

He turned slowly and left the store, walking back to the sub. As he walked, he read the newspaper article on the serial killer that the women had been discussing. It confirmed everything that they had said. A man had been caught red-handed earlier that week and charged with the murder of nine people. He would kidnap old men, blind them, chase them through the forest only to cut their legs off and let them bleed to death. Well… some of them. Others were cut in more enthusiastic ways.

Law glanced at the date. The man had gotten caught within a few days of starting his new habit, which made sense given the size of the town and the gruesome nature of the murders. Ticking off his mental calendar, the first murder had been five days ago.

The day that he had first spoken with his prisoner.

 _"Three blind men… your blind men… see how they run… see how you run… They all run after… the afterlife… I cut off your legs… with a carving knife…"_

He was awestruck. Law had assumed that she was just playing with the tune for three blind mice and trying to scare him. But the similarities were too close for him to play it off as coincidence.

Since his last visit, he avoided her. Although he would linger outside the door, he never went in. He had been waiting, trying to see if she would be lucid with anyone else.

At this point, he was realizing that it wouldn't happen.

He had rotated through his entire crew. All of them had touched her at least once. She never reacted to their presence or their touch. She didn't react to anyone. No, she was wrapped up in her hallucinations and her seemingly random flittering from emotion to emotion that was never directed at anyone.

Furthermore, not a single crew member had reported feeling the same shock of adrenaline that he did. A couple were scared shitless, but no electrical charge.

Once is chance. Twice coincidence. But three times?

He was craving that sensation again. That banter. Her desire to be cut by him was a delightful surprise, and he'd already had a very interesting dream on the subject.

Well… more than just cutting her open.

Having reached the sub, Law decided that he would have to go into town with his crew after all. He was clearly craving companionship of the female body if he would consider a mental patient as a possible partner in bed.

He dropped off his purchases in his room, but held onto the newspaper. He stuffed his notebook and a pen into the pocket of his hoodie before pausing at the door. His hand gripped the handle. He took a moment to breathe and collect his thoughts. He would refrain from touching her this time, no matter what. Partially to see if it would have any affect on her behavior. Would he be able to keep her coherent with just his words? That was, if she was coherent for him.

It certainly had nothing to do with that dream he'd had.

He closed the door as he exited the room. Nodachi in one hand, newspaper in the other, he thought about their previous two conversations. He still couldn't remember what she had said about where to meet this King, the one who would defeat Kaido. He also had no further information on Smiles, but he surmised it must be some form of biological weapon, chemical weapon or drug. The towns focused on in the last few years were known for scientific research, the shipments were seemingly random ingredients or lab equipment.

He also had no further clue to the meanings of fire, water, dragon…

And of course, of these 'cracks' she spoke of.

He smiled, having reached the door of the brig. He fought to calm his accelerated heart rate, as all of his thoughts seem to center in on the blonde woman in the cell behind this door.

He shifted his nodachi into the same hand as the newspaper, and opened the door slowly, schooling his face when he shut it behind him. He walked slowly down the steps, immediately eyeing her form chained to the cell wall. She was humming again, singing another children's lullaby. She tended to favor those.

"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry. Go to sleep little baby…"

His men had grown slowly more comfortable with her, and it showed. Her hair was now pulled back into a loose ponytail, bringing it away from her face. Although not completely clean, it had clearly been brushed and washed to the best of their ability. Her face was in a much better state, and Law could already tell she was starting to gain weight.

"… you wake, you shall have…"

She sounded as if she was grieving. An image of his own family briefly flickered in his mind. He pushed that thought aside with a scowl. This woman.

"… all the pretty little horses…"

This was unacceptable. She was breaking through barriers he had spent years crafting without even trying. She didn't even register that he was in the room yet. She sniffed briefly between the lines of the song. Law didn't need to see her face to know she was crying. Her voice sounded more broken than usual.

"… and bays, dapples and grays…"

He walked towards the cell, his steps deliberately ignoring her tears. She would forget about it soon enough. She always did.

"… all the pretty little horses…"

Law took a seat in front of her, carefully watching her mournful face as he lowered himself to the ground in front of her. She blinked blearily, looking up at him. Her multicolored eyes were red and puffy from the tears, her nose runny. Her exhausted expression told Law that she had been crying for a while.

He lowered his sword to the ground, placing the newspaper in his lap. "Is it the voices?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

She shook her head slowly, sniffling. Law reached into his back pocket, hesitating. He had told himself that he wouldn't touch her. But her straightjacket wasn't entirely clean, and lips and noses were prone to infection if not cleaned.

He pulled out a clean rag that was wrapped around his scalpel. The scalpel he set on the ground for now. The rag he used to gently wipe her face, carefully avoiding skin contact. She blew gently into the rag, and then leaned her head tiredly against the bar.

"No."

He waited for her to continue, but she made no attempt to answer his question further. Her eyes focused on his knee dejectedly. He dropped the rag next to him on the ground to throw into the wash later.

This was not a surprise that Law liked. Where was the attitude?

"He brought a girl home today."

Law frowned, but waited for her to continue.

"I never told him he could bring a girl over. But he did. She seems nice, I guess."

"… Eric?"

She nodded before continuing. "He can't hear me. Sometimes others can, but he never does. He never sees me. He never will."

She sighed heavily as Law silently seethed. She was in mourning because her boyfriend brought a girl home?

Law wanted to believe that this was another hallucination of hers. But there was a chance, however small, that she honestly could see this man. A glance to his lap reminded him why he had come down there.

She had correctly predicted this string of murders. She knew about the Smiles and Kaido. Law was never one to believe in superstition, nor was he one to ignore the facts.

As much as he hated to admit it, these cracks might be visions. Dubious, but remotely possible.

She might have actually seen his adolescent self suffering from Amber Lead Syndrome.

Maybe.

"I heard some interesting news today," he started, moving her away from the topic of her boyfriend.

She made a noise that in any lesser woman would have been a grunt. Her eyes flickered to his face.

"A serial killer. He would kidnap three victims at a time, blind them and-"

"-and then cut off their legs?" She was frowning, looking into his eyes. Law scowled at the interruption, but nodded. She frowned and blinked repeatedly as his confirmation began to sink in. "…Oh."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Oh. I thought it wasn't real."

He couldn't help it. He snorted. She glared at him.

"You see visions of shadows and people through cracks in the air that you are convinced are real, but one is of a brutal set of murders and you think it's fake?"

Her expression softened. "Well… yes. And no. Reality is weird. To quote an old teacher, 'How do you know what you see is real?' "

Law grinned. "You have a point."

She grimaced. "No more darkness, please. Bad Captain."

Law suppressed the pleasant tingle at the small of his back at the sound of his title. "Oh?"

"You left, and there was only shadows, and there were a lot of them, and they tried to grab me."

Law vaguely realized that every time he came to see her, she was more coherent. His grin was lazy as he rested his chin on his hand. "I know. It was delightful."

She cursed at him through the bars, struggling momentarily against her bonds as she told him exactly where to shove his delight. Law could get used to that look. It was much better than those mournful tears.

"Judging by those threats of yours, you're dying for another round."

She paled visibly behind a snarl. It was an interesting expression. It reminded Law vaguely of a cornered animal.

"Just fucking kill me already, damnit."

"But you're so entertaining."

"Bite me."

"If you insist."

This stopped her snarling momentarily. His grin widened as she seemed to reason out the implications. He made no move towards her, and her eyes narrowed. "Empty promise. Chicken."

"Just because I haven't yet doesn't mean I won't. It's no fun when you see it coming."

She raised an eyebrow. "Dude, I literally can't move. It's not like I could get away."

"Yes, that straight-jacket is rather restricting."

She frowned. "Straight-jacket? What straight-jacket?"

He paused, before glancing pointedly down at her body with his eyes. She slowly followed his gaze to her chest. He watched her face carefully as she slowly seemed to realize what she was wearing, testing her limbs against the chains.

"… are the chains really necessary?"

"You tell me. You're the one who bent the bars."

"… bars?"

This was a new development. She could see him more clearly without contact than things that she was touching.

"Is-ya, I want you to look around you. What do you see?"

She glanced around quickly. "Well that's easy. The crack over there is some dude fucking his sister, there's another one over there with giant monsters, Carlos is having his quinceanera - he says he'll be damned if only girls get to have them - the shadows are in the back corner right now, behind your head. They're watching you."

He watched her thoughtfully. "What are you sitting on?"

"That's a stupid question."

"Then even you should be able to answer it."

"Aren't I… on a bed?"

He had gotten her to see the straightjacket. He wondered what else he could get her to see. "The bed's behind you. You're on the floor, in a cell, in the brig of my submarine."

She paused for a moment. And then looked around again, slowly. She repeated his words, slowly, drawing them out. "… on the floor… cell… sub… marine…"

Taking a moment to let her digest the information, Law thought of the implications. For some reason, she was more than just responding to him. She had seen him before she had seen the straightjacket, and the chains. This was more than just hallucinations - she had full on rejected reality, having believed that everyone and everything was a figment of her own imagination, from the places she was to Doflamingo himself.

But not him.

Law knew it was twisted, but he was quite proud of this new development.

He had done something Doflamingo couldn't.

"Can… can I be unchained?"

Law hummed as he thought, watching her face. She was still staring at the cell around her.

"The last time you were unchained, you bent the bars of your cell trying to free yourself. We've been told that you have a habit of trying to kill yourself. Plus, you've been known to be violent to caregivers in the past."

She stared at him. "… Caregivers. Is this an insane asylum?"

"I already told you. You're on my submarine."

"The yellow one?"

Law nodded. He wondered if he would ever get used to her spouting off things that she shouldn't know about. He also wondered if it was one of the cracks that told her it was yellow.

"Well I won't."

"Won't what?"

"Hurt you."

"I'm not one of your caregivers."

She frowned. "There are other people here?"

He grinned. "Yes."

"Right now?"

"No."

"Oh… Would you take your shirt off for me then?"

He raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Well now, aren't you a bit forward?"

"I wanna see them."

"See what?"

"The tattoos. Can I touch them?"

Law paused. This was it. This was the sign he had unconsciously been waiting for. The final confirmation. Very few people knew of all of his tattoos. The likelihood that Doflamingo knew of them all was low. That she would know? Even less.

He leaned forward, his face inches from hers. It was time to test her some more.

"What tattoos?" he asked carefully, watching for every micro-expression.

She frowned. "Um… you know. The tattoos. Big one on your back and chest. Oh, and shoulders." She smiled hopefully. "Naked time?"

"What do they look like?"

She frowned, looking over her shoulder, her mouth slightly open. She seemed to do that when listening to the cracks. "Ah… jolly and hearts. Jolly? Like happy jolly? No, dead jolly. Hearts. Like the clown guy."

Law forgot to breathe. Her eyes had stopped seeing him again. "… What clown guy?"

"Clown guy. You know clown guy. Um… clown… ai… fall… something. Scalpel now? Or naked?"

"No."

She pouted briefly. "Well can I at least take off the chains?"

"I already told you, you have suicidal tenden-"

"And I told you it don't work. I don't die."

He paused. "Everyone dies."

"Not me. I'll prove it. Cut me." She was leaning forward again, trying to inch closer to the scalpel. He wanted to. Damnit, he wanted to rip into her skin. They were docked, they had more than enough supplies, he could even patch her up afterwards. But he had decided not to touch her. He would have to wait. He would not be cutting her today.

"No."

"Cut me."

"I don't respond to orders-"

"Come on, you know you want to-"

"Stop interr-"

"Just a little bit, on the cheek-"

"I will not waste my supplies stitching-"

"You won't! Come on! Just do it!" Their voices were getting progressively louder. His anger was rising. He snarled.

"I will not."

"...Pussy."

"You-"

"Pussy."

"I-"

"Just like Cora. He's a pussy, too-"

Law snapped. He grabbed the scalpel from it's spot on the ground while reaching for her head, pulling it towards the bars. He stabbed her through her right eye socket deeply, breaking through her skull and reaching her brain. His chest heaved as he held her unmoving head to the bars, the blade buried as deeply as it could go. He was shaking in his rage. Time seemed to tick by slowly. His flash of anger cooled in the realization of what he had just done.

Even if he could save her, the damage would be extensive from his impromptu lobotomy.

It was her own fault, he reasoned weakly, even as he realized exactly how badly he had just fucked up.

"Ah… that feels kinda nice, actually. It tickles in the back, though."

Her other eye looked straight into his dumbfounded ones. She smiled sweetly before giggling. "And if you wanna see something really cool, pull it back out. Go on! It's really gross though."

Slowly, questioning his own sanity as he did, he pulled the blade out of her ruined eye socket. She let out a shuttering breath as he did so. As soon as the blade left ruined flesh, her skin started to move. He watched in disbelief as her eyeball reformed and the eyelid stitched itself back together before his eyes. She blinked a couple of times and then grinned, leaning into the bars closer to his face.

"Thanks. It helped. Bad headache. Gone now. Naked time?"

Law didn't move. That tingling sensation from touching her hair had worked its way through his body. He had just stabbed her in the eye and watched it reform.

She wasn't kidding.

He tightened his grip on her hair. When he spoke, his tone was dangerous, quiet, and commanding. "… Are you a danger to my crew?"

He'd been a fool. All of the precautions he had taken to keep his crew safe were meaningless. This was why the drugs didn't work well. James really had seen her bite off her own tongue. Penguin, Bepo, James… Even Law himself. Not a single one of them would have been able to do anything more than slow her down.

Doflamingo. This is what made her special. This is why Doflamingo kept her around. It explained everything.

She frowned. "No. No. Not your crew, no. I… Hm… Not you, no. No, no, no. The shadows say no. I think they like you."

Law stared for a moment, finding it ironic the shadows that haunted her liked him.

"Why the straight-jacket?" he said suddenly.

She looked at him incredulously, almost as if she was offended. "How should I know?"

He glared at her. "I wasn't asking you."

She scoffed, then looked apologetic. "I didn't mean it."

Law waited. He was still trying to process everything that had just happened.

"Clown guy. He was a good guy. I liked him. A lot."

This was too much. She shouldn't even know about Cora. It wasn't right. He never shared his past with anyone, and this girl had just waltzed into his life and knew something so personal.

Cora was off limits.

She had crossed a line.

He had crossed a line.

She had crossed several lines.

There were too many thoughts, too much new information, too much had happened since he had walked in here. Law's mind was a whirlwind as he tried to absorb everything he had just witnessed and discovered. He swallowed as he realized that she had purposely manipulated him into stabbing her. And it had worked.

He zeroed in on one thought, pushing everything else away. He released her hair, grabbing his sword and tucking the newspaper under his arm. A corner of his mind realized that the wound had healed, but the blood was still there. He would have to wash his hands upstairs.

He let out a shaky breathe. His rage had cooled to ice. His tone was bitter and cruel as he spat out his words.

"I don't forgive you."

He was going to punish her. She was going to scream, beg for mercy. And he would deny it. He would never be merciful again.

Cora was off limits.

She seemed to realized he was leaving. Her multicolored eyes were panicked as he turned away.

"No, wait, don't go! Please, wait! Don't leave me!"

He ignored her, dimming the lights slowly as she thrashed against her bonds and called for him. The calls turned to screams as the darkness settled in around her. He would torture her later. He would test the extent of her newfound abilities to the highest degree. But not before ruining her psychologically.

She was afraid of the dark. Good. She could live in it. No food. No water. She could soak in her own feces for all Law cared.

This bitch had just manipulated him.

Easily.

She was going to _pay_.

/././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

Song: "All the pretty horses"

Read and review please. I wrote the whole story thus far in a weekend. :) Comments appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

I'm placing a warning at the top of this chapter. The torture in this chapter is more intense than the rest of the story (probably). If you can't handle gore, don't read.

If you like the story, you'll probably be able to skip this chapter - but you'll miss some important tidbits.

Although honestly, if you have read this far you are probably fine with gore. I certainly hope so.

/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

The first part of Law's plan was simple.

He had ordered everyone off the ship. Having seen his face, no one argued. They would be off the ship and out of his hair for the next 24 hours, and he encouraged them to stay away for longer. He didn't tell them it was for their own safety. They assumed it was to protect them from his rage. The truth was Law couldn't trust their safety around that bitch below.

So they had all rented rooms for two nights at one of the inns in town, and would probably be drinking through the night. Two nights of debauchery for his crew, and peace with which Law could implement his schemes.

She had manipulated him.

No one manipulates Law.

For the first twelve hours, he sat in the control room, his fingers on the kill switch and a book in his hand. He had a surveillance snail watching her, and her screams filled him with sadistic pleasure as he read his book.

At random intervals, he simply flicked the power switch for that section of the submarine. Off. On. Off. On. Sometimes rapidly, sometimes lingering, and always humming in satisfaction.

With his current mood, he would have killed any woman that he tried to have. Or at least left them much worse for wear.

No.

This was better.

Every now and again, he napped while the lights were off, relaxed as she begged and screamed for him to free her. It was mostly incoherent as the blind panic had taken over her senses. And the rest of the time, he planned.

In between napping sessions, he prepared his operating theater. He gathered the materials he would need.

So she could regenerate. Good. That meant that Law didn't have to worry about killing her before he'd had his fill.

And he would have his fill.

Bitch.

He had remembered her panic when he had first transported her to his sub. In the following days, there was nothing else that caused that level of blind panic. He admitted that even he had originally felt strange when using his shambles technique. Both his men and himself had adjusted quickly - but it was disorienting to a normal person. He could only imagine how it felt to someone who had no grip on reality.

He had mused on that fact. She had no grip on reality, so the fact that she even noticed the teleportation seemed out of character.

Then again, at this point, nothing should surprise him concerning the woman. Nothing made sense around her. He almost regretted taking her off that ship, aware that her only saving grace was the information that she had given him. Everything else though… everything else. She had invading his mind, quickly becoming an obsession.

She was a mystery that he hadn't been able to solve. Every new discovery only piqued his curiosity rather than sating it. Every answered question brought on copious more. Everything from her physicality, to her insanity, to her unexplained knowledge-

And that knowledge. She knew things about him, things that no one else knew. He clenched his fists in his anger. She shouldn't know anything. It wasn't right that she had that knowledge. She hadn't earned it. He didn't trust her.

Frankly, it was terrifying.

Just like that odd power of hers. Not only her regeneration, but that sensation of electricity. He had woken up twice from his sleep reaching for it. She had invaded his sub, his past, his mind, and now his dreams.

That regeneration of hers was fascinating on many levels. As a doctor, she was a potentially limitless organ donor. He had thought of pulling out her organs and seeing if they would grow back, wondering if he could sell her organs on the black market. They would certainly go for a great price - organ smuggling was something that was difficult to pull off, even more difficult than slavery due to the tendency of the donors dying during collection.

She was steadily consuming him. He'd never been more fascinated by a person in his life.

She was going to pay.

He had noticed her regeneration seemed to fit every part of her. Twelve hours of screaming, and she had not lost her voice. Her screams were as intense at the beginning of his schemes as at the end of the time. A smile graced his lips at the thought. He had yet to tire of them.

It was time for phase two.

Law stood up, turning the lights on in her cell. He brought his video receiver den den mushi with him as he stalked towards his operating theater. Even with the video turned off, the sound continued. She was sobbing hysterically. His hatred of her reveled in those sounds. It was going to get much worse for her.

Much.

Much.

Worse.

Reaching his theater, he set up the video feed on an empty wall, standing comfortably next to an operating table. He checked the straps briefly for the third time since he'd spoken with her. Taking his time, he checked all of his materials as her sobs quieted. Turning back to the video feed, she had fallen asleep in her cell, exhausted by the last twelve hours.

It was time.

He extended his room throughout the entirety of his submarine. His nodachi stood unsheathed in his hand, poised and ready. He was going to have to be faster than her. He would be faster than her.

The last eleven years had not been spent doing nothing. He had perfect control over his powers.

He had left the rag outside her cell in his rage. Now, it presented the perfect opportunity.

"Shambles."

There was a sudden scream. This panic was even more intense than her petrified screams of the dark - if that was even possible. She hadn't traveled far, but it don't seem to matter. she thrashed, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she screamed for Eric.

This displeased Law.

"Shambles."

He switched them again, sending her back to her cell. She smashed her head against the bars with enough force to bend the bars and crack her skull.

"Shambles."

Again she was switched. Her wild thrashing dented the floor, and that unmistakeable crack of bone told him she had broken bones in the process.

"Shambles."

Those bars would need to be replaced at this point. Her head wound was already healed, but seemingly not for long as she cracked her skull against the bars again. Fresh blood coated the walls as her thrashing decorated her cell. She screamed for her lover again.

"Shambles."

The delirium had set in. No words were uttered anymore from her lips as she shrieked.

"Shambles."

Blood dripped from her mouth and she choked. She had bitten off her tongue in her thrashes. The severed appendage slipped from her mouth as she opened it to scream again.

Time to change things up again.

"Shambles."

He brought her into his operating theater, in an open section of the floor. He decreased the size of his room to just cover her as he cut her into pieces that he attached to the floor before dismissing his power. She had had enough time to still dent the floor. Reaching over, he picked up her head by her hair and ignored the accompanying jolt as it threatened to send shivers down his spine, carrying her head over to a box.

She had ceased coherent speech, even with his touch. He thought it was a good sign. He was breaking her. She would be broken. And then he would toss her out like the trash she was.

The box was painted black on the inside. It would be beyond dark inside. He tossed the head inside as she screamed. He threw a lock on for good measure, and then a black blanket.

She would see nothing. If he was lucky, his touch would bring her just enough sensation to feel everything that he was about to do to her body.

He was glad he had sent his crew away. He vaguely registered the grin on his face, and knew that it was more insanely pleased than usual.

He took out a sledgehammer, picking up a hand and placing it on the dented spot on his floor. He then swung the hammer with all the force he could muster onto the hand. The dent grew bigger, but the blood that painted it pleased Law enough that he just didn't care. Her screams had reached a new octave. He considered it a personal achievement, and resolved to break his new record. He watched with detached fascination as crushed bones knitted themselves back together, before repeating the process on her hand, her kneecap, her foot and more. The amount of blood on his floor was getting dangerous before he stopped. He didn't want to slip.

It was time for the next experiment.

Grabbing her chest, he strapped it down to the operating table. He grabbed a rusted scalpel from a bucket seawater, chosen specifically for it's dullness to gather rust months ago, and brutally cut into her. He reached in and pulled her ribcage apart before dumping the saltwater inside her.

This would answer if her powers were devil fruit based. If they were, this would kill her.

He stood back, pickup up a hand and absentmindedly stabbing it as he watched her body's reaction. In the corner, the lock on the box jingled, almost drowned out by the screams.

A new record, he mused quietly.

The ruined organs were piecing themselves back together. Even more fascinating, a rib that he had broken off was not reattaching itself. Instead, from the stump of leftover rib, a new one grew before his eyes. The old one was pushed out of her body by her regrowing organs, and clattered to the ground besides the table.

As her body put itself back together before his eyes, the seawater spilled to the floor. In two minutes, her chest was whole again, unmarked.

Her straightjacket was permanently ruined though. He considered calling Bepo and asking him to find a new one in town for him. Alas, it was close to five in the morning, and Bepo would be asleep.

Law caught himself admiring her bare chest before his lip curled in distaste.

This time, again using the rusted scalpel, he ripped into her chest, throwing salt and shards of broken glass inside before grabbing a stapler and stapling her skin back together. All her body parts were desperately flailing around his theatre, soaked as they were in her own blood. He picked a few up, tossing them into the air lightly as he watched her body's reaction to this new development.

The skin across her chest had healed, sealing the salt and glass inside. He weighed his options if the glass was stuck inside her body permanently. The stapled were pushed out of her skin and sat uselessly on top of her chest.

Her screaming stopped.

Her various body parts stopped thrashing.

Examining her chest with sadistic awe, he watched as shards of bloodied glass began pushing out of her skin, wiggling their way like worms out of an apple. Beads of red pushed themselves out from her chest, and he realized it was the salt he had dumped in. It was the most disturbing thing he'd ever seen.

He wanted to see it again.

He wondered if it would work with something bigger.

He repeated the process, only this time leaving the rusted scalpel behind. She was no longer reacting to anything he did.

He didn't care. This was fun. More fun that cared to admit. Luckily, no one was around. They would never know.

He watched in morbid fascination as the scalpel was pushed through her skin much in the same way as the shards had been.

He registered that she must have passed out from the pain or shock. Good enough for him. His anger appeased, he resolved to spend the next few hours satisfying his curiosity instead.

Switching utensils, but not bothering to wash his hands (he could care less if she got infected, although at this point he doubted it would happen), he cut into her chest again, this time using clamps to hold the edges of her flesh from reconnecting. He pour lemon juice inside, seeing if it would wake her. Alas, no screams, no thrashing. He then removed organs, first cutting them out carefully, seeing if he could salvage the removed organs. He placed them in bags in and put them on ice to test their validity later. Then he watched her body continuously create new ones in their stead. He took her beating heart in his hand and crushed it, leaving it in place. It repaired itself and began pumping again. He cut her limbs and bled her dry, only for her to never run out of blood. He soaked her limbs in seawater, chained her with sea prism and cut off fingers. He even pulled out a tattoo machine and tattooed her skin, watching her skin reject the ink and heal without a mark.

She couldn't die.

She really couldn't die.

It was as if reality itself refused to let anything happen to her body. As if reality rejected the damage.

He paused.

 _As if reality rejected the damage._

Those cracks that she saw. She had said there was light and pain, and that the cracks had pulled her through.

What if she was telling the truth?

Law glared at her rapidly healing body. Only this demon of a bitch could confuse his own acceptance of reality in this way.

She still had yet to respond to his ministrations.

After two more hours of operation, he decided he was tired. He could operate on her more later.

He put her body back together, leaving her head in the box as he carried it down the stairs towards her cell. He dumped her body onto the bed, before he bended down to unlock the box containing her head. He reached in, and pulled her head out.

Her eyes were open, and solid black.

He stopped, gazing at them curiously. No response. He hit her head against the wall. Nothing.

Well. This was new.

He placed her head back on her body, before exiting the cell. Her black eyes were turned towards him. Law doubted she could see him, but that didn't shake the ominous feeling that settled over his chest as he walked back up the stairs.

He left the light on.


	8. Chapter 8

Law sighed deeply, rubbing his temple from his position outside the girl's cell. He was tired, sleeping even less than usual since he had tortured her. He was currently watching her from across the room, leaning against the wall, his sworded leaning against his shoulder, legs bent with his feet flat on the ground, elbows rested on his knees.

His head fell between his knees.

It had been a week since Law had lost his temper at the girl. Her eyes hadn't changed back. They hadn't closed. She was completely gone from him now.

The electricity was gone.

Law told himself that he should be thrilled. Instead, he found himself constantly checking in on her, sitting outside her cell for hours while he watched her. He was even more obsessed than he was before, and caught himself snapping at his crew when they spoke to him. He avoided them. All except for Bepo. The bear seemed strangely sympathetic to his situation. Sometimes Bepo would sit with him, silently comforting his longtime friend. Other times, Bepo dropped him a quick word about their next destination. They would reach it in a few hours. Law knew it was a large city. Bepo had expressed a concern about the different ports they could dock at, before Law had coldly told him to dock in the lawless zone. His bounty was more than enough to discourage the average pirate from attempting to attack, and he had faith in his crew to defend the ship.

It was better than paying extra and running into a potential naval ship. They didn't go to this island often, but Law trusted his chances with pirates more than the navy.

Lifting his head back to her open eyes, his gaze softened. Her condition was that of a coma. She was now wearing the uniform of his crew instead of her ruined straightjacket. After the first day, he had hooked her up to an IV, only to have her skin reject it. He tried feeding her, but she wouldn't swallow. The soup went to her lungs only to have it leak back out her mouth as her strange power rejected it from her body.

After a week, he had begun questioning his own sanity.

 _"How do you know what you see is real?"_

He didn't. Everything he knew of his reality rejected everything to do with the girl. Humans couldn't live longer than two days without fluids. She should be dehydrated, she should be losing weight, hell she should be dead. Her eyeballs should be dried out. Something.

But no.

The only movement was her breathing. Slow. Shallow. Steady. If he hadn't been watching for it, he might have thought she was a corpse.

The door opened behind him. Law could hear the footsteps slowly making their way into the brig. He glanced up as James sat beside him. The man's eyes were trained on the unmoving girl in her cell.

"… You wanna talk about it?"

Law's eyes narrowed. He had never confided in the man. He wasn't about to start now.

He grunted instead.

The other man hummed, before speaking slowly, hesitantly, "You know… this is not my first pirate ship." James' eyes never left the girl, but Law knew James was completely focused on him.

"One of my previous captains had a thing with this woman. When she left suddenly, he became obsessed. He chased after her across the seas only to find out that she had died." He paused for a moment, seemingly lost in his thoughts. "Two years of obsession, the game of cat and mouse had driven her to commit suicide. After finding out, the man blinded himself and died."

"Your point?"

James let out a low chuckle. "Her condition isn't going to change because you stare at her, Captain."

Law tightened his grip on his sword, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Captain… when we get to the island, I want to request to watch her for you."

Law glanced at the man next to him, considering him. James continued, "That man… he lived in his obsession, and never let it go. I'm not asking you to let it go. But if you continue like this, you never will. Fresh air will do you good. Maybe killing another crew or two while you're out."

Law smirked at this. The man knew him better than he had given him credit for.

"… Fine." Law stood up. "Call me if there is any change. I have work to do."

James chuckled at Law. "Leave it to me. She may be creepy, but I suppose that sort of comes with the job of being on your crew."

Law scoffed. "Fuck you."

"You ain't my type."

Law closed the door behind him and paused. He knew his crew had been worried about him. Their loyalty and faith knew no bounds. As much as he hated to admit it, he cared for them as much as they cared for him. He started down the hallway.

He would go out into town. The crew knew of her regenerative capabilities now. They had to. The amount of blood that had leaked into the hallway had been absurd. His crew was good natured, but the young Samei had muttered darkly when mopping it up. As the youngest of the crew, he was usually the one left cleaning. Shachi and Penguin had not been happy about the dents in the floors, either.

James would call him if there was any trouble. He would not engage if she turned violent.

Law trusted him. James knew that. It was probably why he offered in the first place.

In the meantime, Law opened his door. He had only gotten one report from an agent in the last week, and had added the shipment to his map that still hung up behind his desk. He would take this opportunity in their next town to see if he could produce any new results relating to Smiles. They were approaching the New World rapidly. After this next island, they would be docking at Sabaody Archipelago. Despite being a submarine, they would be getting a coating due to the depth of the next voyage.

Law had no intention to stay there long. He was eager to get to the New World. He wanted answers for his questions.

Law suppressed a yawn, abruptly deciding what to do before they arrived. He turned towards his bedroom to take a nap.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

This was a spring island, the weather warmer than the island before and more conducive to the large population. The island itself was technologically advanced, and housed several research facilities within the city limits. Despite this, it had a high crime rate in certain areas of the city that housed it's relatively poor population.

It was perfect.

It would take three days for the log pose to set this time. Three days that Law did not intend to waste. His crew had taken the opportunity to stock up on the sub's provisions and weapons. This town actually sold torpedoes, which was rare enough to buy a few when they came across them. Shachi and Penguin had found materials to make some improvements to the efficiency of the submarine's engines. They still hadn't fixed the heating problem, but they were working on it.

Meanwhile, Law had taken to scoping out the dubious areas of town. He had yet to find the connection to the Joker in this town, but Law was persistent. There was a black market here, and it seemed that black markets no longer functioned unless the Joker had a hand in them.

Law didn't linger long. Just long enough to make his presence and interest known. He dropped hints with a bartender that he was interest in chemical weapons. Prospective sellers would find him, and he could return to his crew.

Every now and again, the girl's image lingered before he pushed it away. He had faith in James.

They had left three crew members on the ship today: Samei, James and Couri. Samei was cleaning the outside of the ship, taking off some barnacles that had latched on during their travels. Couri was a cook, and was taking his time (and low level of supplies) to completely scrub the freezer, fridge and pantry before he restocked tomorrow.

The rest of the crew was waiting in an inn in a better part of town. It wasn't of the highest quality, but it suited Law nicely. It was dark, it was quiet, and it employed security guards - something that he had specified for any place he stayed. Law was cautious and calculating. He knew the rates of pirates who had been captured in their beds by excited bounty hunters.

It was why he generally slept in the sub.

But it had been two weeks since he'd gotten laid, and it was time to fix that. His spirits were higher than they'd been in a week, and he was ready to let loose with his crew.

Just a little bit, anyway. Law never fully let loose. He never drank enough to get drunk, never did drugs and even in sex he always had one ear on his surroundings, prepared for a surprise attack. It had saved him more than once.

He paused as he walked, looking into the bookstore window. He hadn't finished the books he had found at the last island, but that never prevented him from buying more. He was about to walk in when he sensed eyes on him. He turned, looking around himself slowly. There were a few people walking the street, but for the most part they steered clear of him and avoided his gaze. Law's eyes narrowed, and the back of his neck prickled. He could sense the man watching him from the alleyway even if he couldn't see him. The man wasn't particularly strong, and he didn't seem prepared to attack. Law waited for a moment. It was possible he was a broker. But it was also possible he was relaying Law's position for someone else.

A cart was coming up the street. Law pretended to be interested in the bookstore's window display until it passed, using his Room in that moment to teleport himself into the alleyway behind the man. He kept his distance - close enough to hear the man's voice but not so close as to reveal he was there.

When the cart had passed, the man looked around, confused and stepping out the the alleyway to look for him. He had a den den mushi in his hand, and the weapons at his side screamed bounty hunter.

Law almost chuckled. He was a rookie pirate with an exceptionally high bounty. Bounty hunters were always trying their luck with him. His paranoia was justified.

He waited for the man to retreat back into the alleyway, and whisper heatedly into his transponder snail.

"He-he's gone! I don't know where he-"

Someone answered on the other line. This voice was deep and commanding. "You incompetent fool, I told you not to underestimate him. Find him."

"Y-yes, sir!"

The man hung up, pocketing the snail and looking back out into the street as if Law would magically appear before him.

Well. He would. But behind him.

"Mes."

Law finally released his room. Law retrieved the man's heart as he collapsed to the ground, and took the man's transponder snail from his pocket. For good measure, he took the man's weapons as well. They were of fine quality, and would make good additions to their armory.

Chuckling as he tossed the heart casually, walking through the other end of the alleyway before pocketing the heart in his hoodie and stepping out into the open. There was another bookstore closer to the inn that he would try instead. With the transponder snail that he had taken from the now unconscious man, he would hopefully hear of any plans before they happened.

Although Law secretly hoped not. He was itching for a fight.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

"We are, we are, we are— we are the engineers! We can, we can, we can— drink forty beers!"

The boisterous tone of Shachi and Penguin as they danced on the table top made the entire bar laugh. Someone shoved a tankard into each man's hand, shouting at them to chug it all down, which they promptly did before returning to their song.

Law decided that he would withhold hangover medication from them tomorrow morning. They were going to suffer for making him sit through twenty renditions of that damn song.

A hand on his chest momentarily distracted him, as the curvaceous brunette beside him nibbled on his ear. He calmly sipped on his beer, smirking as he leaned back in his seat. It was hard to believe that this woman had been so shy before, as a hand snaked down to touch the growing bulge in his pants, moaning softly into his ear. He had approached her specifically, ignoring the two women that were more provocatively dressed and throwing themselves at him. There were two reasons for this. The first being that he enjoyed the chase that came with convincing a shy woman to have sex with him. There was more play in that kind of flirting, more back and forth, and certainly more satisfaction in winning their attention.

The second was the obvious weapons hiding under the few clothes that the other women had.

He had done it before, purposely taken a bounty hunter to bed with him. It provided a satisfaction of another kind when he beat them at their own game. And it gave him license to be as rough as he wanted.

Not tonight though. Tomorrow maybe. Tonight he just wanted to fuck someone senseless. Besides, it was amusing to watch as the woman beside him had slowly come undone. Law had one arm around her, and reached with his other hand to pull her chin to the side before slowly licking her ear. He maintained eye contact with one of the bounty hunters, clearly telling her that he knew her intentions and had refused her.

Oh yes, Law thought, watching the woman at the bar glare while fighting her own blush. This was far more entertaining.

Briefly, he figured that he should probably thank James in the morning. The man had been right. Law needed this.

Before his erection got any more uncomfortable, Law finished his beer and stood up, pulling the woman up beside him. He inclined his head towards the door, and she flushed, following him silently. She looked as uncomfortable in her own desire as he, and seemed eager to sate it. Making eye contact with Bepo, Law led them out of the bar and back towards the inn. Although some of his crew were along the lines of Penguin and Shachi, they would take turns being designated watchers and guards who didn't drink. Although Law was the only one with a bounty so far, occasionally bounty hunters made the mistake of thinking that his crew would be an easy way to get to him.

And what a mistake that was.

He wrapped an arm around the woman's shoulders, senses focused and stretched as far as he could. Besides the two women in the bar, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man who had been following him, nor anyone else. The transponder snail had been suspiciously quiet. Law guessed that the man had woken up and contacted his boss about his screw up and missing snail.

Oh well. Law enjoyed the challenge.

The woman beside him took the opportunity as they walked to feel Law's ass, and he chuckled. Sometimes the shy ones were the most adventurous in bed, and it seemed this one would lead that way.

Nodding to the security guards in front of the inn, Law relaxed slightly as he stepped inside. He had already asked for an extra guard for the duration of their stay and paid in kind.

He was going to enjoy himself tonight.

As soon as he shut the door of his room and leaned his sword against the wall, he pushed the woman up against the door, kissing her hungrily. He distracted her with his lips as he used observation haki on the room and general vicinity.

Empty. No one was nearby, no prickles on the back of his neck.

The woman was panting as he moved to her neck, nipping and sucking, observing her carefully for her reactions. He considered himself to be a damn good lover, and he wasn't about to lose that reputation now. This woman would be screaming his name tonight.

Observation haki, when used in the right way, was very good for sex.

He noticed that she seemed less excited by the ministrations on her neck as the way he had roughly pushed her against the door. He reached down to pick her up by her legs and slam her against the door, earning a loud gasp and moan as he pressed into her. He growled and bit into her shoulder, and she moaned louder while grasping his arms and wrapping her legs around his waist.

Ah. She liked it rough. Perfect.

Law pulled her dress down roughly, attacking her shoulders and scraping lightly with his teeth, and she threw her head back. He pulled it up above her hips, snaking his hand up and grabbing her breast. She responded by reaching her hands up to his head and knocking off his hat in her desperate grabs for his hair. Not even two minutes and he had her completely undone.

Using one hand to grope her ass, he used the other to push her bra above her breasts as he bit at her shoulders. He squeezed, using the pads of his finger tips to roll her nipple around before pinching. Her grip on his hair tightened, and he used his long arms to reach around her ass and rub her entrance teasingly. She gasped, and he smirked against her skin. He pushed the underwear aside as he shoved a finger inside her. She tensed at the unexpected move before moaning, rocking her hips against him, rubbing herself on his clothed erection. He pulled his hand out from under her dress to reach up and pull on her hair earning another loud moan.

 _Her eyes open, and solid black._

He growled at his own thoughts, forcing himself to focus on the woman in front of him. He bit her ear before sucking hard, pushing another finger in before roughly pumping in and out of her.

Three minutes and the woman was shuddering, close to orgasm.

He ground his hips against her, purposely angling it to rub against her clit as he whispered huskily into her ear, adding a third finger.

"Cumming already?"

She shuddered and moaned loudly in response. He could see she was close. He sped up his ministrations, opening his mouth to graze his teeth over her neck before pulling on her hair and biting down hard on her shoulder. She screamed as she came, shuddering against him.

The security guard out in the hall definitely knew what had just happened. Law wouldn't be surprised if the whole building knew.

He took pleasure in it, and decided that her next one would be louder.

He waited for her to come back to earth, pulling his fingers out and using his other hand to massage her scalp he had pulled. He reached back and pulled off her heels, tossing them to the floor before snaking a hand around her hip and pulling away from the door. She gasped and grabbed his shoulders, before he walked over and threw her on the bed.

"Dress off. Now."

He watched her carefully. The order had turned her on. He had a feeling that she liked powerful men in control.

She was certainly in the right place.

He pulled off his hoodie and unzipped his jeans as she took off her dress, kicking off his own shoes. He reached over and pulled her leg towards him, and ripped off her underwear before placing his mouth over her heat and shoving his fingers inside her. She screamed again, tensing but running her hands through his hair. He used his tongue on her clit while pumping into her with his fingers, his other hand clawing over her thighs and leaving red marks. She whimpered his name and bucked her hips, He shoved them back into the mattress, holding her hips with enough force to bruise.

"Don't move."

She nodded weakly. Her face was hard to see in the darkness, but Law preferred that anyway.

 _Her eyes were open, and solid black._

He growled again, which the woman mistook to be aimed at her.

"Wow Law, you're an animal in bed," she said breathlessly.

In response he curled his fingers inside her and watched her throw her head against the mattress as he touched her g-spot. Focusing there, he began to pump in and out of her, hitting her g-spot, licking her clit and scratching her hips.

It didn't take long for her to orgasm again. But for good measure, Law didn't stop, forcing her into another orgasm immediately afterwords. It wasn't until after she had screamed his name over and over again, and that she was a shuddering mess on the bed that he reached into the drawer and pulled out a condom, finally ridding himself of his jeans, socks and boxers. He flipped her over, pulling her hips towards the edge of the bed.

"Grab the pillows. Use them to prop yourself up."

The shaking mess of a woman before him reached for the pillows while he teased her entrance with his cock. The moment that she had placed them under her chest, he slammed into her. She screamed again.

For a moment, Law remembered the screams of his prisoner on his ship, noticing that this woman's screams weren't nearly so delightful.

Furious at himself for thinking of her, he began an unrelenting pace on the woman in front of him. He angled himself to where she screamed the loudest, before using his reach to rub her clit. This was the kind of woman who had a lot of orgasms, and he intended to break whatever previous record she had.

 _Her screams had reached a new octave. He considered it a personal achievement, and resolved to break his new record._

She came suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts as her walls clenched on his arousal. But he didn't stop, forcing her to come again as he fucked her roughly. He released her hip and pulled her hair, biting into her shoulder. It wasn't long before she came again. And again. Law wasn't anywhere close to cumming yet. He didn't care if it took all night, or if he fucked this woman into unconsciousness. He would forget about his prisoner for one night.

He wouldn't think about her screams. Or her eyes. Or the way she blankly stared at him through the bars, completely unresponsive…

Luckily for him, the woman in front of him did pass out. She wouldn't noticed that he'd gone soft.

Law growled, barely refraining from punching a wall out of frustration. He had done just fine all day long without thinking about that bitch in her cell.

What if she never woke up?

It was his fault.

He pulled away from the unconscious woman on his bed, ripping off the condom as he took a shuddering breath. Turning and walking away from the bed, he stepped into the bathroom to shower. The heat would distract him. Maybe he could even finish in the shower and stave off the blueballs that would surely kick in soon. He'd rather not have to deal with the pain.

His chuckle was low and empty. He had a woman in his bed that he had fucked into unconsciousness, and he hadn't been able to cum. If anything, he was more frustrated than he'd been before.

This obsession was turning very unhealthy. He hated the woman in his brig. She deserved everything she got. She invaded his mind, his life, his past, his desires…

Besides, she asked for it. Specifically.

And she manipulated him.

And she insulted Corazon.

Yet, for some reason, this didn't make Law feel any better. Even as the warm water washed over his skin, he couldn't find it in him to hate her.

But if he didn't hate her…

Damnit, he didn't even know her. She was an insane patient that he had found and was planning to brutally murder because of her association with Doflamingo.

This was not okay. This was not healthy. It was certainly not normal.

This was not okay.

He was not okay.

He wondered if she would be okay.

As the water washed the last of the sex off of his skin, he closed his eyes and allowed a tiny, fleeting thought to pass by.

He hoped she would be.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law stayed in town the next two days. He had woken the woman up after his shower and sent her home so he could try to sleep, much to her chagrin. Unfortunately, even with the bed to himself he didn't sleep much. There was a growing ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach that wasn't related to anything his senses picked up. There was still no message from the transponder snail, still no watchful eyes on him as he picked up some new books and returned to the inn. Another day came and went. Not wanting to repeat the embarrassment of the night before, Law stayed in and read his books, trying to push away the sense that something was wrong. He convinced himself that he was obsessing over that woman, and that he was worrying over nothing. On the second day, he met with a broker only to find dead ends. The Joker had a presence here, that much was certain, and had several shipments of chemicals headed towards the New World. But again, the chemicals seemed random. They would not make up any drug or weapon that Law was aware of.

The feeling never left. Law even called Shachi to check on her condition, as he had switched with James for a day. There was no change.

Night fell. James went back to the sub, Shachi went out drinking, Law read books in his room. It was very late by the time he slept, and again, his sleep was fitful. The ominous feeling was growing. Dawn approached.

Luckily, it was the third day. The log pose would be set by noon.

That's when Law got a call.

 _Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

It was the snail Law had pulled off the man in the alleyway.

 _Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

Law sat up in his bed, schooled his face, and pulled the receiver off the snail. He waited.

"… I hear you met my man."

Law considered this statement, weighing his options carefully before he replied.

"You could say that."

"I hear you also have something of his."

Law smirked. "You could say that."

"I have something of yours."

Law carefully kept his tone even, casual, and lazy. "Do you now? I hadn't noticed."

"It'll be hard for a pirate to sail without his ship."

Law looked over at the other transponder snail, sleeping on the bedside cabinet. It had not moved.

If the sub had been attacked or taken, protocol was to raise the alarm. He would have gotten word from his men. But there was nothing there.

The other man was bluffing. And Law knew it.

But then again, he was feeling a little cooped up.

The voice began again. "I want a trade. A heart for a heart, if you will. I'll give you your ship back in one piece if you come to the warehouse on Stone Way and 43rd. Alone. With my man's heart."

Law chuckled low and menacing. "There's no need to threaten me. If you wanted my presence you could have just asked."

"You seem to have misunderstood me. We may not be in your ship, but we have more than enough canons to sink it."

"Oh?"

"Warehouse. One hour. Bring the heart."

The man hung up. Law carefully replaced the receiver, rage settling in like ice.

This man would not live to see another sunset. No one threatened his ship or crew and got away with it.

He stood and dressed quickly, before walking over to the wall and leaning against it. He tapped lightly with a knuckle. The tap was light enough that anyone outside the room wouldn't hear it, and Law held his hat in his other hand as he seemed to contemplate it. To any outsider, that's what it would seem like. Law couldn't be sure he wasn't being watched from a distance.

He tapped lightly again and waited.

There it was. Muffled, but there. One, long scratch.

There were many good things about have a polar bear on your crew.

Law typed out a message, shrugged, picking up the beating heart and his sword on his way out the door.

It was time to go hunting.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law approached the warehouse exactly one hour after hanging up with the man. The doorway was large and open. Peering through, he could see a large man siting at a table, drinking tea. Next to him was the man whose heart was beating wildly in Law's jacket pocket. He was sitting on his knees, eyes at the ground, the perfect vision of repentance. It seemed like it was just the two of them.

Law wasn't fooled. The snipers outside were a nice touch, and he could tell that there were men under the trapdoors, waiting to spring a trap.

This was going to be fun.

Law walked forward, his sword against his shoulder, while his other hand sat in his pocket. He looked relaxed and calm as he approached the table. At a good distance from the table, he stopped and waited, his grin lazy as he observed the man in front of him.

He was large and muscular, that was sure. He wore a suit, but no tie, and his shirt was unbuttoned to expose his chest. His black hair was slicked back, a scar over his right eyebrow giving him a dangerous look that was diminished by the raised pinkie as he sipped his tea.

Law waited for the other man to speak first.

He placed his teacup back onto it's saucer, pushing it aside before leaning forward on his elbows and lacing his fingers together, resting his chin on top of them. He looked Law up and down, seemingly unimpressed.

"So. I hear my man bothered you during your visit."

The man beside him whimpered. He had been roughed up since Law had seen him, but Law's careful eyes noticed it was dirt and make up. He appreciated their attempt.

"On his behalf, I would like to extend my apologies for the… indiscretion."

Law just waited. He was patient.

The man watched Law carefully, his eyes narrowed. "He has been duly punished, as you can see."

Law kept his steady gaze on the man in front of him, grinning wider.

This man was smart, but not smart enough.

"… His heart, if you will. And may I just say, those are some strange powers that you have."

Law kept his gaze level, but did not move. The other man frowned.

"… The heart, Mr. Trafalgar."

Law began carefully. "… Politely, I must refuse. I have no guarantee of my ship's safety in the event that I return it to you."

The man bristled, but nodded. "Very well. I suppose my word is not good enough."

Law chuckled lowly. "You ask me to come here alone, to the edge of the city, away from my ship after threatening to blow it up. Yes, you're word is not good enough. Especially with those snipers on the roof."

The man kept his gaze level, giving nothing away. On the ground, the man stiffened ever so slightly. "… I don't know what you mean, Mr. Trafalgar."

Law slowly pulled his hand out of his pocket. "… Room."

The man was fast, throwing the table at Law as soon as his room began to extend. The teacup sailed through the air. But Law was faster. "Shambles."

He switched places with the man who had turned to punch behind the table. The table hit him in his confusion, and in his moment of weakness, Law pulled out his sword and cut the man and table in half. He glued his top half to the table, and sent his legs to the other side of the room. As Law breathed, he could smell the spilled earl gray tea over the dingy scent of rust and mold from the building. Not a great combination.

"Now, now, Bounty Hunter-ya, that's no way to treat a guest."

The man growled at Law, reaching in to his jacket to pull out a weapon, but Law was faster. He pulled out the other man's heart tauntingly.

"Call your men out here, Bounty Hunter-ya." Next to him, the other man eyed his heart, slowly inching towards Law. Law squeezed, relishing in the man's screams as he collapsed in agony.

"Now, if you please," Law said.

The man was livid, but opened his mouth. "Go to hell, pirate scum. NOW!"

Men burst from the trap doors, roaring as they charged at Law. There were a couple of shots towards Law, but he simply used his fingers to switch the bullets and the snipers. With the same trajectory, in less than a second the snipers had shot themselves. He crushed the heart in his hand, before shrinking his room to just inside the warehouse. He cut the remaining men into tiny pieces, mixing the parts before reattaching them randomly. Their screams made Law's grin turn sadistic. He felt a coil inside his chest relax as he played with their body parts and fed on their terror.

The man who had threatened Law had not escaped Law's blade. He indicated with a finger, pulling his now severed head forward until they were face to face. Law grabbed him by his hair as the man growled.

"You won't get away with this. Those canons-"

"Have been demolished, Bounty Hunter-ya. I'm afraid that my men had no trouble locating them."

The man paled as Law smiled sadistically. "You gave me too much time. I would say that you should improve for next time, but…"

The glint in Law's eyes grew as he released his room, and slowly lowered the man's head onto his blade. "…You won't get a next time."

Oh Law had need this. The adrenaline, the rush - the look of terror as the man slowly felt the blade reach his brain.

In one quick motion, the head was severed in two. The ground was littered in brain matter, blood and the remains of the other man's heart. Law could no longer smell the tea, but decided that he preferred this. The other men were still screaming from being mixed up, and those with their wits about them were screaming about their boss's untimely demise. Dropping the half the the man's head he still held, Law reached into his back pocket, pulling out a clean rag to wipe his sword and hands. He sheathed his sword, stepped over the blood remains, and left. In two hours, they would be leaving this miserable excuse for an island. He had just enough time to grab some breakfast in town before checking out of the inn.

He wiped his face and hands as he left, cleaning off the remains of the blood. He would have to wash his hands before he ate anything.

 _Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

His den den mushi? He pulled it out of his pocket. Bepo's voice answered. "C-Captain… You need to come to the sub. Something's wrong."

Law's blood froze in his veins. "… What do you mean, Bepo?"

"I… I smell blood, Captain. But it's not ours! But…" He swallowed. "Captain, I can't explain it, but I don't think we should go in without you. The air, it feels… wrong."

"I'll be right there."

Law hung up, and extended his room to teleport him across town.

The air felt wrong to Bepo. That could only mean one thing.

She was awake.


	9. Chapter 9

Law arrived in front of his sub, his crew standing on the docks uncertainly. Bepo stood between them and the sub, and paced back and forth.

The mink was _shaking_.

"Captain!"

"Captain, you're here!"

"Captain, we can't get a hold of James-"

"Captain, Bepo won't let us in-"

"Did you beat them up, Cap?"

"Captain, what's going on?"

Law held up his hand, asking for silence, his eyes trained on his mink friend. "Bepo, tell me everything."

Bepo sniffed the air. "I-I came here to check on the ship after we destroyed the cannons, as per your orders. I can smell blood, but I know it's not any of ours. I tried to approach the door, but…" He rubbed the back of his head. "When I get close, it just feels wrong. I don't think I should open the door. I'm sorry."

His gloomy demeanor made Law smile. "Thank you, Bepo." Law looked up at the door. He turned to walk up the gangplank. He unsheathed his sword just in case, tossing the sheathe to Bepo for now.

Frankly, that ominous feeling hadn't left his stomach yet.

He approached the door, senses straining for what might be on the other side.

The window provided a clue. It was covered in blood.

He reached to the handle, and pulled it open, slowly, straining to hear anything. He held back a gag. The immediate stench of human intestines would have made the most iron stomach turn.

"…Frère Jacques… Frère Jacques…"

So she was awake. And in the hallway.

Not good.

He didn't recognize the language, wondering if she was just speaking gibberish now. It certainly fit her profile.

Law opened the door more. As the light flooded in, it lit up the bloody scene in front of him.

"…Dormez-vous… Dormez-vous…"

The lights were dimmed. The blood was starting to dry, maybe an hour old. There were the remains of several bodies on the floor. Law could tell that they were not his crew from the distinct lack of boiler suits. He would have to count them later though. They were ripped in too many pieces to tell at first glance.

"…Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines…"

Two torsos had their ribs exploded as if they had blown up from the inside. Another had a hole that Law suspected was from a punch. Intestines and blood soaked the walls, dripping down the stairs. Law hummed quietly, appreciating her taste in decoration. Samei, on the other hand, was going to have a field day.

"…ding, dang, dong… ding, dang, dong…"

She was sitting with her legs crossed, cradling something in one arm held close to her chest, another torso in front of her. The torso was upside-down, a head balanced on the exposed guts. The petrified face was set in a permanent scream, something pink leaking from it's lips.

"… are you sleeping… are you sleeping…"

She was was covered in blood herself. Law realized that she was cradling another severed head in one arm. No, severed was a bad term. Judging form the length of spinal cord, the head had been ripped off of the shoulders. That was an impressive feat. Bodies were much more difficult to pull apart than most people gave credit for.

"…Brother John… Brother John…"

Far behind her, Law could see James. His eyes scanned James's prone body, but his breathing was steady. He was knocked out, but alive.

"…Morning bells are ringing…"

The top of the skull in her arms had collapsed in, exposing the brain. She held a bone in her hand. Distantly, he thought it was a rib. She stabbed the rib into the brain cavity, mixing it up before scooping and sticking the rib into the severed head's mouth.

"…Morning bells are ringing…"

She was feeding it.

"… ding, dang, dong… ding, dang, dong…"

In that moment, it clicked. Law never felt more stupid. He realized everything he had missed. The root of it all. His heart sank.

"… Oh, you are just so cute, Eric! Mama loves you!"

She was a mother. Ripped away from her son. Tortured, raped, beaten, unable to die-

"… shush, shush, don't cry, mama will protect you. I'll keep you safe. Always."

 _"He brought a girl home today."_

Those cracks, or visions. She had seen her son.

 _"I never told him he could bring a girl over. But he did. She seems nice, I guess."_

She watched him grow up.

 _"He can't hear me. Sometimes others can, but he never does. He never sees me. He never will."_

Unable to reach him.

Those screams when he teleported her… she had been screaming for Eric. Dimly, he realized she was screaming about losing him.

He had made her relive losing her son. He didn't know how or why, but the teleportation triggered the memory.

He was a monster.

He lowered his sword, approaching her slowly, watching her movements. His mind was clouded.

 _"No. No. Not your crew, no. I… Hm… Not you, no. No, no, no. The shadows say no. I think they like you."_

She had reached forward, grabbing the head she had been feeding, holding it against her shoulder and patting the back as if it was a baby she was burping. "Come on, one big burp for mama. No more bringing girls home, mister. I saw her punch you, that wasn't nice. I know she's in your kindergarten class…"

Law kneeled slowly in front of her, placing his sword at his side. He was unsure of her reaction to him.

"Is-ya."

She blinked slowly, and turned to him before smiling. "Chicken! You're back! I almost lost him again, but see, he's here! He's right here!"

She held out the head to him.

He was about to destroy her. Only this time, he didn't want to.

"…Is-ya, what happened here?"

She blinked slowly, looking up. "Ah… they said that they were gonna hurt you, so we stopped them. They stopped them. Something. Eric, this is Law. Say hi!"

She said his name. He swallowed, his heart having sunk farther than it had in years.

He had forgotten he could feel this empathetic at all.

"Is-ya, Eric's not here."

She frowned. "But he's…"

He reached forward, holding her hands where they held the head. He looked into her eyes again. "Is-ya, look again. It's not him."

Her eyes drifted slowly, leaving Law's face as she looked at the head in her hands. "He…" She frowned. "He… hurt…he hurt someone. I wasn't here. They were here. He hurt someone, so they hurt him."

He watched her gaze. "Who hurt him?"

She looked into his eyes again, unfocused as she struggled to remember. "The… Something. I think the shadows did. They do like you a lot."

"Is-ya, are you sure it was the shadows and not you?"

She blinked. "…Oh. No. It was me. They told me to. I think."

Law took a moment to piece together the story. He was sure that if he looked below, the cell she was in would be ruined. James was knocked out, but otherwise seemed to be uninjured. She had saved him, and she didn't even know that he was there.

She looked down again, and panic laced her face. Her head swiveled around as she looked desperately, trying to pull out of his grasp. The head fell to the floor, rolling away. Law tightened his grip on her hands. "No, no, no, Eric, Eric, he's gone, where'd he go, he cries without his mama-"

"He wasn't here, Is-ya."

She was hyperventilating. Tears spilled from her eyes as she shouted at him. "No! No, he was here, he's here, I-"

Law pulled her forward into his chest and held her as she realized that her son was gone. She cried against his chest, sobbing hysterically while calling for her lost son. Those aching sobs as she called for him brought back memories of fire and blood.

He had sobbed like this once.

She was breaking in front of him. The head had stopped on the floor next to them, eyes still staring in terror. Brain matter leaked from the corner of it's mouth. Even as he emphasized with her, he was distinctly impressed with her brutality - and her unexplained loyalty.

She had protected his crew.

A shadow passed over the doorway. Law glanced behind him to see Bepo there, holding his delicate nose from the smell. "Captain?"

Shachi peered around the corner, paled, and disappeared. Law could hear him vomit over the railing. Bepo's eyes watched him carefully, eyeing the sobbing girl in his arms and James' prone form farther in.

Law reached down, scooping the woman into his arms. He grunted. She was heavier than she looked.

He didn't look at Bepo as he spoke. "She saved him."

"… Aye, Captain."

He turned and walked towards his room. Bepo would take care of the rest. Another medic would take care of James. He would take care of the woman in his arms. He looked down at her. She had a death grip on his hoodie, and she continued to sob while muttering incoherently for her son.

Reaching his door, he paused. This was going to stain his carpet.

What was he even doing?

Shifting his hold of her, she gasped and held on tighter. She was trembling violently. "No, no, no, no, not again, no more, please no more, no more darkness, no more leaving, no-"

"I'm not leaving."

Her muttering quietened. "…not leaving, not leaving, no leaving, not leaving…"

He reached out and opened his door slowly, pushing it open with his shoulder. He walked through his office, doing his best to keep the blood stains to a minimum. At his bedroom door, he shifted again, reaching down to open it while she clung to him. Briefly, he was glad for her strong grip. His hold on her was awkward at best, and he would not have been able to hold onto her without it.

Luckily, he had left his bathroom door cracked. He pushed it open as he walked through, gingerly setting her on the counter.

She wrapped her arms around his middle in a strong hold, legs squeezing his hips, clinging to him as if he could disappear at any moment.

He supposed that was fair. From her point of view, he could. He had.

Law was not a touchy person. He did not cuddle. He did not hug.

He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair as the electricity made his heart beat a little faster. He breathed in, the iron of blood and the stench of acid filling his nose. He didn't care. He waited until her tremors slowed and her grip relaxed before speaking.

"Is-ya, how old was Eric when…" He couldn't seem to finish his sentence. He didn't know how. When she was… Taken? Teleported? Kidnapped? Was he killed in front of her?

There was a pause. He wondered if she even knew.

"… He was four. He was four, and he… He watched as I… oh god. He saw, he saw… he was so scared…"

He held her patiently. "Tell me. What happened?"

The tremors worsened. "I… I… You…"

She pulled back suddenly, looking at his face in horror. He watched her apprehensively.

"You… I remember. I remember everything. You make me remember!" She was hitting him now, punching his chest. When she pulled back the first fist to hit him, he automatically armored his chest with haki.

He didn't need to worry. There was no strength behind her hits.

"I hate you! I hate you! I don't-no, I don't want to-"

He grabbed her wrists. "You must."

She shook her head. "No, no, If…" Her eyes looked back up into his, full of desperation and despair. Her chest was heaving as she seemed to struggle to breathe. "If I do… I don't want it to be real."

"It is real, Is-ya. Now tell me."

She flinched at his words. "I…"

He waited as he watched her face go through the stages of her grief, her rage, her loss.

"I… we were getting ice cream… I was walking, we were holding hands. My brother… he was there, too. Then, then a light, and a headache, and… and a pull, through the crack, and the black, and pain, and so much pain… and I screamed, and, and… He watched me, and he screamed for me, he screamed for his momma, but I couldn't reach him, and…"

"… And?" Law prompted.

"… Pain. Lots of it. More than anything else. Everything burned, and the cracks and the voices and the screams… and then the sunglasses and the feathers, and they whispered to me, always whispering, and he cried a lot, and…"

She looked at him. "And then you."

Stunned, Law held her gaze. The sunglasses and feathers was Doflamingo, so she had at least been vaguely aware.

 _"If you… no, if you're real then… then… oh god. No. It's not true. H-he-he…"_

She had not cried because Doflamingo had raped her.

 _"Oh. Yeah. That."_

 _"That's different."_

She had never cried because of him. It was always for her son. Nothing else had ever been real to her, nothing had ever taken away the image of her son screaming for her.

 _"Why are you so sharp?"_

Until him. That electricity that was coursing through his veins - did she feel it, too?

He reached for her hand, placing his hand over it, feeling the jolts through his system and watching her face for her reaction.

"And then me."

She nodded. "You… I see you. And the cracks. But less with you."

"Are they here now?"

She looked around, and shook her head. "No."

"What _do_ you see?"

She frowned. She looked down at his hand on hers, before slowly gazing around the room. "I… see… white?"

Well, it was a start. His bathroom was covered in white tile, after all.

"Is it a hospital?"

"No. A bathroom."

"… Oh…" She frowned. "Why am I in a bathroom?"

"Because you're going to take a shower."

"Oh… Yeah. That sounds nice. Shower. I haven't had a shower in a while. I think."

He chuckled, relieved that she had stopped crying. The knot in his chest finally loosened. "No, you haven't."

She frowned at him. "… shit."

"What?"

"… If you leave, the cracks come back."

Amused, he decided to tease her. "Oh? What are you suggesting?"

She looked at his chest. "… Can I touch them now?"

"No, you need to shower. You're covered in blood."

"Oh. Right. Bad guys. Blood. Boomy."

"Boomy?"

"Yeah, they went boomy."

He shook his head. "Shower time."

"Right. Shower." She looked around again. "… Where?"

"Let go of me and I'll show you."

One of her hands was still holding his hoodie. She looked at it and let go, following him with her eyes as he turned around and pulled the curtain closed. He reached over and turned the knobs until the water was warm. He turned back to her.

"You have a nice ass, mister."

He grinned. "Thank you. Your turn."

"My… Oh. Am I stripping for you, now?"

"I could leave, if you-"

"No!" She slipped off the counter, looking disoriented for a moment, before turning back and becoming fascinated with the counter and sink. She ran her hands over the granite, tracing the lines with her finger tips. "Woah."

"You're wasting my water, Is-ya."

She reached to her stomach, grabbing for a shirt that wasn't there. She looked down, realizing what she was wearing. She twisted around, trying to see the back, completely taken by the bloodstained clothes.

As amusing as this was, it was taking forever. Sighing, he stepped forward, grasping her shoulders and bending to look her in the eye. "Is-ya. Shower."

She nodded and reached for the buttons. He released her, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall. As it slipped off her shoulders, she reached behind her to unclasp her bra, only to realize that she wasn't wearing one. She pursed her lips, and the pushed the overalls off of her hips to fall on the floor, stepping out of them, she looked at him expectantly. "Your turn. You're dirty, too."

He chuckled lowly. "If you insist."

He placed his beloved hat on the counter as she reached out, touching the curtain gingerly. She shook them slightly, completely enthralled. Pulling the curtain, she yelped and giggled as she touched the water.

"Is-ya-"

"Shower, yes, doing, yep."

She pulled back the curtain and stepped in as Law pulled his hoodie over his head, removing his shoes by stepping on the heels. He concentrated on remembering different rare medical conditions as he tried to stave off the erection that was beginning to form.

She was hardly unattractive.

At least she wasn't crying. He clenched his jaw, freezing for a moment. That raw grief that had affected her made his own surface. He took a moment to shove the images of fire, blood and guilt down back where it belonged.

Maybe he'd cut her later as punishment.

Scratch that, he would. He was a pirate, she was his prisoner.

Even if she had defended his ship.

She had clearly forgiven him. No, it was as if she didn't even register that he had tortured her physically. It was only the dark and the teleporting that seemed to bother her. At this thoughts, Law grinned absentmindedly. Maybe he could watch shards of glass push themselves through her skin again. He shivered a little at the thought.

Pulling off his pants and underwear, he tossed them and her bloodstained clothing down a hatch next to his sink. They would be deposited in the laundry room below.

Pulling back the curtain, he joined her under the stream of water. Her eyes were closed as she actively enjoyed the feeling of the water on her skin. She looked up at him, a bright smile on her face.

"This is fantastic!"

Not ten minutes ago she had been mourning her lost son in total hysterics. Now she looked like the happiest woman in the world.

He gave up. She was an enigma. He'd never understand her.

Her hands reached to touch the tattoos on his chest, and he grabbed her wrist. "No touching. Shower." He released her hands and handed her a bottle of shampoo to use.

"Captain?"

Bepo's voice carried into the bathroom.

"We're in the shower."

"Uh… We?" the bear said in a confused voice.

She blinked at him, then looked towards the curtain.

"Don't worry about it, Bepo. What is it?"

"Um… Do you want me to get your things from the inn?"

Law thought for a moment. "Yes. Thank you."

"Okay. James is awake. Says he heard a loud crash that rocked the boat and then was hit from behind. The uh… cell door is broken." Law had a feeling that broken did not begin to cover the destruction he was sure to find in his brig from Bepo's tone. He looked back at the girl and glared lightly.

She pressed the bottle of shampoo back into his hand, rinsing the soap from her hair. Completely unaware as he plotted various was of cutting her. His eyes drifted slowly down to the curve of her-

He paused, thinking of several particularly long medical conditions before he spoke again. "Write up a damage report, the usual, leave it on my desk. After I'm dressed, I will speak to James. He's off duty until further notice. If he was out that long from a blow to the head, he'll have a concussion. Also, grab a spare suit for Is-ya."

"Will do, Captain!"

He listened intently for a moment, before hearing the door close. He poured some shampoo in his hand before scrubbing it in. Is watched him thoughtfully.

"Who was that?"

He waited until he had washed the soap from his hair before answering. She stepped out of the way, letting him take the stream for himself.

"Thanks. That was Bepo, my first officer. You'll meet him soon."

"Be…Bepo. Mink… Right? From the, the…" She waved her hands, drawing a square in the air. "The big one, the one that moves."

"… You should work on your explanations." He handed her some bar soap to scrub with after he was done with it.

She glared at him. "Fuck you. You try seeing all kinds of weird things and being coherent. Ass."

He chuckled, trading places as she rinsed the soap from her body. He kept his eyes averted, now recounting elements of the periodic table. That distraction didn't last long - he didn't have them memorized. He quickly switched the ligaments in hands instead. He heard his bedroom door open again and then shut, telling him that Bepo had returned with clothes for the girl.

"Are you done?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Uh… I think. Right? This is a shower. That's how they go. Woosh, woosh and then bam! You're clean."

"… Just turn off the water."

She turned around as he indicated the knobs behind her. Tentatively, she turned them off.

Law pulled the curtain, grabbing the towel and drying himself off, stepping onto the tile. He opened a cabinet under the sink and pulled out another towel for her. She took it gingerly, and dried herself off, wrapping it around her shoulders for warmth. She followed him closely into his bedroom, watching him pull out clean clothes to wear. He turned to his bed where Bepo had tossed a spare boilersuit, picking it up for her and holding it out.

"Put this on for now."

She took it, frowning. "Um… Underwear?"

"You don't have any."

She thought for a moment, considering the outfit in her hands, before dropping the towel and putting it on. She seemed completely unashamed of her body as Law looked away.

"Kinky. Never would have taken you as the type."

He chuckled. "You came that way. May I remind you that you were a prisoner on my ship until you broke out of your cell an hour ago?"

"Oh. Opps."

He chuckled.

She was buttoning up the top as she looked at him. "Do I have to go back now?"

That was an excellent question. Did she?

"… No. No you don't. You're following me for now." Her eyes brightened as she smiled.

He was realizing that she would become aware of things as he touched them or pointed them out to her. He wanted to test that as much as he wanted to cut into her. He finished zipping up his pants, put on some deodorant and pulled on a fresh hoodie.

"Are there cracks now?"

She looked around and nodded.

"How many?"

Another glance. "Um… it changes. Between four and ten. The shadow one is back. They like you." She frowned. "They were mad at me. Really mad. Better now though. Did my job."

He paused as he pulled on his socks.

"… Your job?"

She tilted her head and frowned. "What do you mean, my job? I have a job. I'm an excellent software engineer. Fuck you."

That just confused him more. He chalked it up to the cracks and pulled on his shoes.

She had done her job. She had protected his crew and ship. That was definitely an interesting tidbit.

"Is-ya, is your job to protect me?"

She stared at him before she laughed. "Bro, I can heal. I can't fight."

"You fought just fine with you destroyed my brig and ripped those bounty hunters apart."

"… I did? I did. That's right, I did. Huh. Couldn't do that before." She pulled back an arm and punched the air with all the ferocity of a poodle. He observed her for a moment. It was as if she had no idea that she was that strong.

Scratch that. She had tired to hit him earlier. Those punches were nothing.

More layers to the mystery.

"… What's a software engineer?"

"Hm? Oh. Um… Huh. I don't know. Code things. Beep, boop."

"...Right." He looked down and realized her feet were bare. He reached into a closet, pulling out a pair of fuzzy white slippers with brown spots.

"Here, put these on. We'll have to get you your own things later."

She nodded, slipping them on her feet. He walked around his bed to leave, her following close behind with the _flip flop_ of the oversized slippers on her feet.

/././././././././././././././././././././././././

Read and review, please. I'm curious about what ya'll think. :)


	10. Chapter 10

James eyed his supposed savior warily across the room. She had been strange when muttering incoherently, and downright creepy when in her comatose state.

But this?

This was just weird.

Law followed his gaze, looking behind him at the girl who was currently sitting cross legged on the floor and giggling maniacally while muttering about a snake's head.

"Worty worty wortimort gonna diiiiiiiie."

There was a pause, before Law shook his head and turned back to examine James' pupils for dilation distortion. James had not broken eye contact from the strange girl, who was now waving her hands in the air as if batting away mosquitos and muttering about lights that ich.

After their shower, she had followed Law across the hall to find James sitting on an infirmary bed. This floor of the sub was almost entirely dedicated to Law and the officer rooms. Law's suite sat across the hall from the infirmary, with officer rooms down the hall. Next to the infirmary was an operating theater and the Freezer, as dubbed by his crew. It housed extra bodies for Law to examine at his leisure. When they had walked in, Law had told the girl briefly to stay put while he examined James. She had promptly flopped on the ground to stare into space. Originally, James had been holding an ice pack to his head, but it had slipped from his hands upon her entrance to the room.

That same man was now eyeing her suspiciously as Law continued his examination.

"… Are you _sure_ she's the same one who saved me?"

Law chuckled. "Yes."

James still looked unconvinced. Law put down his flashlight, opting to feel around the back of the man's head instead.

"… I'm sorry, Captain, but what exactly do you see in her?"

Law paused.

"I'm not an idiot. You were always specifically interested in what she said. But…" Law looked back at the girl, now laying all the way back and moving her hands as if conducting an orchestra. "… Is any of it really worth anything?"

Law lowered his hands, opting to grab his clipboard and writing notes while he thought. To be honest, Law didn't have to tell this man anything. This man didn't need to know, he would follow Law's orders without an explanation. Unfortunately, he was also highly intelligent. Law knew that he would follow orders, but there was a difference between following orders because you have to and following orders because you understand the reasoning behind them.

He put the clipboard down on his infirmary desk, before turning and leaning against it, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You're lucky, the concussion doesn't seem bad from the symptoms that you listed. Keep an eye on it, and have the night crew check on you ever hour tonight just in case. You're off the duty roster until I say otherwise."

Law looked back at the girl, who was staring at him from her position on the floor. She had stopped talking, seeming to notice that he was done and waiting for him to move.

"Is-ya, what do you see?"

She hummed, before looking up at the ceiling. "There are six right now. Worty died in that one, man still fucking his sister over there, cops over there… shadows are next to you."

"Are they saying anything?"

Her eyes unfocused. "Hm. No. Not now."

"Do you see James?"

She sat up quickly. "James! … Uh. James. No. Wait. There!" Her fingers pointed to him as she seemed to suddenly see the man sitting in the bed before her, icepack once again held to his head. "I know, I know!" She started gesturing wildly with her hands. "There was pink, and wings, and it was biiiiiiiig and… uh. Uh oh. Splat. No good."

Law observed James quietly as she spoke, watching his face turn to disbelief. Whatever she said, it had more significance to James than Law.

She looked James in the eye. "She wants pictures for next week." She frowned. "Hm… Did I say that?"

Law pushed off from his desk and stood next to James. The man's expression had changed from disbelief to confusion and now awe. He waited patiently for James to pull his eyes away from the girl that was back to staring at the ceiling from her position on the floor, mouth slightly open as she appeared completely enchanted by something. James' eyes slowly looked at Law, and the Surgeon could tell the man was taking a moment to question his sanity. It was a look that Law was now familiar with.

"That… My daughter, Sofie. She… I think she just described her birthday two years ago. And… her birthday is next week. I usually send her something in the mail." He shook his head. "But how could she possibly-"

"She also correctly predicted the serial killer in the last town."

James watched her again, his jaw tight in decisiveness. "… Those ain't just random things she's seeing with her strange eyes then."

Law frowned. "It's hard to tell. Some of it certainly seems random. But others…"

She was suddenly at Law's elbow, staring at James. She reflected the same disbelief he had previously had on his face. "… Are you… real?"

He chuckled. "Yes, lady. I am."

She reached a hand out, but hesitated before touching him. She looked back at Law, who tilted his head back towards James. "If you want to touch him, you need to ask him, not me."

James answered by taking her hand and placing it gently on his face. She used the open invitation to gently explore his whole face, basking in the fact that he was indeed real. James softened at that look in her eyes, before putting his ice pack on the bed and gripping her wrists lightly, pulling them from his face to look her directly in the eyes. "You've been trapped by those visions for a while, haven't you, little one?"

She giggled. "Sweetie, have you seen these hips? I ain't been 'little' in years." She frowned. "Wait, bad me, no flirting. Sorry."

Law answered for her. "I believe so."

She continued to poke and prod at the different aspects of James before moving on to the bed he sat on.

They watched her for a moment before James spoke again. "… I've heard stories. On Fisherman island, there is a fortune-teller that has correctly predicted the outcomes of major events in history. Last time I was there, we left before finding out if it was true or not. I honestly never believed it. But…"

Law nodded. "Me neither."

James looked at his captain, studying him. "… It was more than just those murders, wasn't it?"

Law turned back to the clipboard on his desk as he pulled off James's file and put it away.

"Yes."

"… I wonder what finally dragged her out of the visions." He drawled, giving Law a pointed, knowing look, seeming to have remembered both his captain and the girl flinching when they had first touched.

Law ignored the look, choosing to shrug noncommittally and turning towards the door. "Rest now. I'm going to get some food. I'll have some brought up to you."

"Captain… she broke out of the brig before I was hit."

Law grinned, making eye contact with the woman again. "I know."

She straightened from her position of inspecting the bed, watching Law and ready to follow him. Occasionally, her eyes darted to different corners of the room as she was distracted by the visions that she was plagued with.

Vaguely, Law wondered if any of them contained her son.

He indicated with a tilt of his chin the direction that he was going. She followed him, bumping into another infirmary bed on her way.

"Bye, bye, James!"

He paused at the door, looking back at James. James's smile was soft, as he waved one hand at her, leaning back in the infirmary bed with the ice pack settled on his head.

He started down the hallway, away from the direction of the blood he could still smell, thinking. The change in James had been exactly what Law needed to convince himself of the next course of action. The girl was not leaving. He was too fascinated by her capabilities, and the information she provided was far too valuable anyway. Law fought a bit of pride as he remembered that she was wearing his Jolly Roger — she looked good in the uniform of his crew. At the moment, his crew was downright terrified of her, or at best as wary as James had been. If he was going to successfully assimilate her into his crew, he was going to have to tell everyone of the underlying meanings to her seemingly random mutterings. He knew that they would warm to her as James had, as they were, in many ways, the exact opposite of himself.

If he was honest, there was another reason that he decided he wanted to keep her — she was amusing. She was currently muttering darkly to herself about shadows appearing too close and too much pink being everywhere, before squealing about kittens.

She seemed to always see him, but her own focus was constantly distracted, and she faded in and out of delirium. She was steadily improving - she was much more aware now than she had been two weeks ago. Even this had been longer than any of his previous interactions with her, so the fact that she was still able to see more than just him was a good sign.

Although he wondered how long that would last.

He paused before heading down the stairs to the mess hall, and grinned. He took a couple steps, ears on her as she followed him blindly, and pulling to the side quickly as she fell down the stairs.

Yes, this was decidedly amusing. She hadn't even noticed that she'd fallen.

It reminded him of someone else. But he pushed that thought away.

He approached her, his hands in his pockets as he kicked her. "Oi. Up."

She looked up at him. "… How'd you get up there?"

"You feel down the stairs."

"Oh." She frowned. "… You totally knew I was going to fall."

He just grinned lazily, before stepping over her and continuing towards the mess hall.

"Ass."

"Don't tempt me to dissect you again, Is-ya."

"Literal or figurative?"

"I'll let you guess."

She blinked, then jumped to her feet to follow him as they approached the door Law was seeking. He could already hear yelling through the closed door, and knew that Couri was probably scolding Shachi and Penguin again. He pushed the door open, stepping inside.

The room was bland, in a way. The wooden floors of the hallway were replaced with easy to clean metal. There were several long, metal tables with bench seating on one side of the room that were bolted to the ground. An open door way on the opposite side lead to a kitchen, with a serving window cut out of the separating wall between the spaces. Couri and his assistants in the kitchen kept the room spotless - it was the one room the young Samei didn't have to clean.

Speaking of the young man, he was currently at the window, trying to get Couri's attention for some food. He was mostly clean, but Law could tell from the young man's shoes that he had already been cleaning up the hallway. His spiky, blonde hair was more messy than usual, and Law guessed he had been pulling on it from frustration.

His cook's mustache was twitching as Shachi and Penguin sat on their knees, arms straight in the air as if in punishment. Knowing the mischievous nature of the two, Law had no doubt that his bald and pudgy cook had hit them with the ladle in his hand for their indiscretions.

All four of the men looked up as Law opened the door. Samei immediately looked as if he wanted to cry. "Captain! Can't you have someone help me? What did you do? Can't you do it off the sub next time? At least get Couri to give me some food before I have to go back to that mess you made in the hallway, please!"

Law's eyes narrowed and Samei immediately gulped. "I-I mean, of course, I'll get right back-"

"Couri." The question in Law's voice was implied, despite it sounding more like a command.

"Yes Captain. These two-" he gestured with a metal soup ladle at his mechanics on the ground. Both men winced noticeably. "-took the opportunity from the confusion upstairs and tried to sneak food out of the fridge."

Both of the accused looked up at their Captain and began pleading at the same time

"Captain, we just-"

"We were hungry from the morn-"

"-he's being too harsh-"

"-you know I lost my breakfast-"

Law held up a hand, silencing their babble. "As punishment, you two can clean up the body hallway with Samei." He looked back at the boy as a wide smile grew on his lips. "Samei, I hope you didn't toss the parts."

The boy shook his head quickly. "No, sir! They are in the Freezer, sir!" He saluted Law before suddenly going pale.

"S-sir?"

All four men had their eyes trained on a pale hand that was waving around behind him. He turned, watching in amusement as the Is looked like she was pressing buttons with her fingers.

"… just a for loop, just need a better one here… wrong syntax…"

He watched Shachi's reaction in particular. The man gulped visibly. All four men had paled.

He took a moment to enjoy the fear on their faces. They would accept her, in time.

Didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy their reactions for now.

"And as for the hallway in question, Samei, I did nothing." He jerked a thumb to point at the girl. "She is the one to blame."

Shachi nodded weakly while Samei gulped.

"Hm? Did Chicken say something?"

He looked back at her, a glare on his face. Oh, he did not take kindly to that. He grabbed her hair and pulled her forward to make eye contact.

"Is-ya, you call me Captain." His voice was laced with malicious intent as he seethed. "Is that understood?"

She blinked, her mouth parted. "Yes. Captain. Right. Understood."

He let go of the hair, stalking over to the window as he tried to cool his anger. Couri had begun to move as soon as Law did. A cup of strong, black coffee and a plate of breakfast sat waiting for Law at the counter. Samei had taken several sets back, eyes trained on the girl.

"She… Certainly doesn't seem that dangerous…" he muttered quietly.

The skin contact had seemed to bring her about to her senses again, and she had quietly followed Law to the counter, standing beside him and watching him take his plate. The cook had made Law his favorite of rice balls and fried fish, seeming to have guessed that Law would be in a foul mood. It was one of the many reasons Law had originally drafted him into the crew - the man had a sixth sense when it came to people and food.

A glance up at the man now told Law that his sixth sense was baffled by the girl. He had grabbed a plate, but paused as he considered her, trying to see what she might like and glancing at his Captain for direction. Her eyes were fixed on Law, and seemed to see nothing else at the moment.

"Is-ya, tell the man what you want to eat."

"Huh? Man. Um. Food?" She looked as confused as his cook, so Law shook his head and gestured at the man to give her the same as him. "Send something up to James in the infirmary. Shachi, Penguin, and Samei — you're going join us at the table while you eat."

With that, he grabbed his mug and plate in one hand, and her plate in the other. She followed him to his usual table on the far side of the room where he had a view of everything, watching him sit down. He set her plate down opposite of him, gesturing for her to take a seat. She touched the bench slowly, timidly, before stepping into the space and sitting down. She poked at the rice balls with a finger, before taking it apart with the same fascination with which Law dissected bodies.

Law looked up at his stunned crew members with a glared order. They jumped to their feet, grabbing their own plates and shakily coming to his table. Law turned his attention to his food as he inwardly delighted in them pushing and shoving each other to decide the seating arrangements. As he had predicted, Shachi and Penguin sat to either side of Law, and Samei was left to sit next to the girl. None of them looked happy.

"Is-ya, eat."

She looked back up at him, her fingers coated in rice, and then began to pick up the chunks, plopping them in her mouth with a satisfied hum. She sucked the left over rice off of her fingers as she ate with her hands, either ignoring or not noticing the utensils she had been provided.

Which suited Law just fine. He could tell from the bodies on either side of him that even her eating habits were making them squirm. Shachi was looking a little green. Samei looked the most comfortable, though it wasn't by much. The young man was much less bothered by blood and guts than his two engineers, being a medic in training. He was often given left over corpses or prisoners to dissect after Law was finished with them, having the same fascination with the human body as Law.

It was why Law had originally recruited the boy. It was amusing.

Shachi whispered to his captain, "Captain, I don't mean to, uh… question you… but why is she here and not in a cell? And… I thought she didn't respond to people…"

Ah. Right. Shachi hadn't been around to see her interact with Law. Only James had, and it seems like the man had kept his mouth shut.

"She's here because she earned it. She may not respond to you, but that doesn't mean she doesn't."

Her eyes had locked back on to Law when he began speaking, her movements halted as she watched his gaze. She followed it slowly to Shachi, who was now ghostly white and green at the same time. It was an odd combination that Law savored momentarily. She blinked slowly, tilting her head.

"And her name is Is or Isabelle."

She nodded, then frowned. "… I think. I think it is. Probably. No sparkly things though. No bells."

This was a much better punishment for the three at the table that Law could have possibly devised by himself. He let them stew for a few minutes while Is forgot her food and started miming bubbles and counting.

"One, two, three, four, five…"

"… When did she… Uh…" Penguin began, his voice cracking slightly.

"Yes?" Law asked.

"Um… become… coherent?"

She suddenly made direct eye contact with Penguin and grinned sadistically. "I've always been coherent. You just haven't been paying attention."

She frowned, going back to her counting and bubble making. "… eight, nine, ten…"

Penguin was shaking and Law was grinning. He was going to introduce them to her, help make them get more comfortable…

But this was too much fun.

It was almost like she was playing along.

"… eleven, twelve, thirteen. That's it." She snapped her fingers, smiling. "Thirteen. With the bubbles and the smell. Thirteen."

Law trained his eyes on her. Bubbles and thirteen. He noted it for later. Samei seemed to note the expression on his face.

"Is… is that important, Captain?"

The Surgeon hummed thoughtfully while he chewed and swallowed. "Is-ya, why are thirteen and bubbles important?"

She frowned. "Don't know. Thirteen. Thirteen, thirteen, thirteen. Fingers? Stabs? Don't know." She rediscovered the food on her plate and began eating again, still with the same fascination as before.

Law noted that the men at the table hadn't touched their own food.

"She… is she… predicting the future?" Penguin asked, hesitantly.

Samei frowned. "That's impossible. There's no such thing as seeing the future. Right, Captain?"

Shachi still looked pale. Penguin shook his head. "No way, Captain wouldn't care unless it meant something."

"Captain only cares because she heals quickly or something."

"No offense, Captain, but what kind of devil fruit power is that? I don't quite buy it."

Law hummed again in thought, taking the time to take another bite of his food and sip his coffee as he contemplated his next move and his men continued to bicker about the possible existence of her powers. He could let them stew in their own confusion and terror of the girl. Or he could tell them the truth. Decisions, decisions.

He wanted them to get some work done today, so he decided to give them a break.

"Is-ya."

She looked up from her food, swallowing the bite in her mouth and watching him expectantly.

"What can you tell me about Penguin?" He had originally thought of asking her about Shachi, but the man looked green enough and Law didn't want vomit all over the table. He'd already showered today, and was not planning on another.

She tapped a rice covered finger on her chin. "Penguin, penguin, penguin, with the wrench and the machine, too hot, too hot, air, and snake and… Oh. Sorry. Snake lady will say no."

"Interesting. What can you tell me about Samei?"

She frowned again, licking her fingers and tilting her head while she watched something over Law's head. He wondered if the shadows were her telling her or showing her, but the grin on her face soon answered that question.

"Dude, that is so gross. You should do that again. Eyeballs squish. Squish, squish."

Samei had turned paler, if that were possible. Again, Law reasoned it meant more to the young man than it did to him.

Law decided to put the final nail in the coffin.

"Is-ya, what about this ship?"

She looked over his shoulder, confused as she seemed to listen to the shadows again. "Ship? Yellow tang? No. Polar. North. With the virus, and the smile, and, black, black flag, and the monster took a bite but you said no, and it… party? Beach. Tattoo touch?"

"No, Is-ya. No touching my tattoos." Law went back to his meal, mulling over the fact that she had described an incident last year where a sea king had tried to take a chunk out of their ship. They had ended up on the beach, eating sea king meat and partying after the repairs had finished. He was noticing that the shadows she described always seemed over his shoulder, as if they were following him.

Is pouted, denied the touch of tattoos again, before muttering gibberish that involved children being crippled by siblings.

It was amusing as the men around the table seemed to realize exactly what just happened. The looked at each other, none of them daring to speak a word.

After letting them stew for a few minutes, Law spoke again. "She can see bits of past, present and I assume future. She defended the ship and protected James when he was attacked. And yes, she really can regenerate - no it's not a devil fruit ability." She looked tired, eyes dropping as she laid her head down, miraculously missing her plate. Her eyes fluttered shut as he watched her for a moment before continuing. "I'm sure you've noticed her grip on reality is slight at best. Regardless, she has already shown to be a valuable asset. She's crew now."

He finished with a tone of finality that left no room for arguments. He finished his coffee and stood, taking both of their plates back to the counter. She didn't stir, her face peaceful as she slept on the table. The men had yet to touch their food.

"Couri, call me when she wakes up. She'll liable to be confused, potentially scared. I suggest you do not engage unless you have to."

Couri had been watching the entire exchange quietly. Unlike the other three, he was superstitious to begin with. He was watching her sleep, his eyes softened.

"Poor thing's been through hell, hasn't she?"

The image of her screaming for her son flashed through Law's mind. When he spoke, it was soft, barely audible though he was sure that the cook had heard it. "… More than you know."

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

It was fast approaching noon, and Law was eager to leave the island. He took a moment to find Quilo, instructing him to find the sleeping girl some new underclothes. Quilo was as flamboyantly gay as they came, and the only member of the crew who would not be bothered by such a request. Although he gave Law a flirty wink when Law handed him a paper with an educated guess of her measurements, Law just gave him a smirk and sent him on his way, telling him that if he wasn't back in an hour they were leaving without the flirty weapons master.

At that time, Bepo had returned with Law's newest editions to his growing library. He had run out of room in his office, and instructed the bear to just set them on his bed for now. Later, he'd take out some of his older medical texts and put them in storage to make room. For now, he instructed the crew to prepare to set sail, and asked two other crew members to help the three he'd tasked with scrubbing the hallway. Soon they'd be beneath the waves, and the stench would permeate the entire sub if it wasn't cleaned.

After checking with his crew to make sure they were all given tasks to complete and were busy working away, he talked more in depth with Bepo about the archipelago. It might take some time to find the groves due to the lack of magnetic pull. Bepo assured him that so long as they followed the pose as best as they could and stuck close to the surface, he could locate it. It would take between five to seven days.

It was also in this moment that Law realized what bubbles and thirteen meant. He was proud of himself. It took him less than an hour to decipher this clue.

Although to be fair, this one was rather simple.

Sabaody was famous for it's unique atmosphere and climate. The bubbles produced by the trees had many uses, the most important being the coating that it provided ships that allowed for them to dive to the depths of fisherman island. Law knew that the island was 10,000 meters below the surface - which was the limit of his submarine. Although there was a good chance they would be fine at such a depth, Law didn't want to take the chance. It had taken him years to afford the damn thing, and it would be difficult at best to rebuild it from scratch.

Not to mention the fact that if the sub did fail, they were fucked.

Bepo had unknowingly told him the meaning of the number thirteen by talking about the different groves and their numbers. Not for the first time, Law was thankful that the bear was on his ship. He was the best navigator on all the seas — perfect for the future Pirate King.

He got no call from Couri, even after his meeting with Bepo. The crew had finished stowing things away, and had scrubbed the hallways spotless, leaving the door open to finish airing the space out. Law took a moment to visit his morgue and inspect the various body parts of the different men that had been ripped apart.

Leave it to Samei. The boy had not only brought them back to the freezer, spilled guts and all, but had attempted to keep each body together. There were five of them, each on a slab with different parts in the spaces appropriate for them. Another slab was dedicated to parts that there was no hope of matching to the right body - two arms, a foot and a collection of guts. He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the insane woman's handiwork before grabbing a clipboard and pulling out a sheet, beginning to take notes on the first body. He had a transponder snail sitting on a counter next to him that he had taken from his office when he had first left the mess hall. The corresponding one was to Couri in the kitchen, and Law waited patiently for the call that would be her waking up. His operating room was soundproof for the most part, especially in the chill of the Freezer.

Law didn't bother putting on a jacket. The cold was comforting, in a way.

Briefly, as he continued to take notes of the first body, he was impressed. She'd been sleeping for almost an hour. Quilo had surely returned by now.

A knock on the door sounded through the room.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing Shachi. "Hey, Captain, here to report. Hallway is scrubbed clean, Quilo has, uh, returned. Everything is ready to leave. Quilo has placed the… purchases… in your room for now." He looked awkward for a moment, before continuing, "Should we… uh… create a space for her somewhere?"

Law thought for a moment, weighing his options. She could bunk in the crew's quarters, but he had a feeling that no one would be sleeping if she did so. They had a few spare officer rooms that he could house her in, and an empty woman's dorm room as well.

 _"… If you leave, the cracks come back."_

"… There's a couch in my office. She'll sleep there for now. With her poor grip on reality, I don't think that giving her a room to herself would be wise." Law didn't bother reminding the man of the destroyed cell below.

"… Right."

"Give Bepo the order. We can leave now. Tell rest that she's crew for now."

They were gossipy motherfuckers. He was giving Shachi permission to do so, meaning that he wouldn't have to address the same questions to every damn member of his ship. Shachi still hesitated.

"… What is it, Shachi?"

He looked like he was growing more uncomfortable, shifting back and forth on his feet.

"Sh-… She isn't going to hurt us, is she?"

The man was staring at the body that Law was currently examining. It was the head that she had been feeding brain matter to. The torso was one of the ones that looked like it exploded from the inside, the knees clearly smashed to bits. Law poked the knee with his pen. Even with rigor mortis settling in, there was a delightful crunch that brought a smile to Law's face.

"No. I don't believe she can."

"S… sir?"

He turned back to Shachi, not bothering to wipe his amused smile off his face.

"You remember the scene. You saw it. James was untouched by her. She herself said that she specifically protected him, for reasons I still don't know. Her grip on reality is poor, but tell me, has she ever done anything violent towards the crew?"

Shachi shook his head slowly, contemplating this. He seemed to relax a little bit. "She… always seemed so docile whenever we were taking care of her."

Law turned back to the remains he was inspecting. "Then that should settle it for you."

Shachi chuckled awkwardly. "Yes, Captain." He turned and walked back out of the room.

 _Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

Law answered the den den mushi beside him.

"Captain, uh… I think you'd better come quickly."

"I'll be right there."

Opening up a room, Law simply teleported back downstairs. The woman was sitting in the same spot as before, clutching her head as she banged it against the table.

"… go away, go away, go away, go away, go away, go away…"

Couri was looking at her uncertainly from his spot in the kitchen, a knife in his hand. He seemed to forget it was there as he looked on with concern. He looked at his captain. "Captain, she's gonna hurt herself if this keeps up."

Law chuckled, amused at how quickly the cook had taken to her. "I doubt it. More likely she'll dent the table."

Couri eyed the girl suspiciously. She now posed a threat to his precious kitchen. As sympathetic as the man could be, he took his job in the kitchen almost as seriously as Law took his extensive collection of hearts. Law reached into his back pocket, pulling out his scalpel and twirling it in his fingers.

A few other crew members were in the room, watching her in confusion and worry. They had all sat on the opposite side of the room, as far from her as they could. She grabbed her hair and pulled, groaning.

" … no, no, no, I don't wanna see, no more, hurts, hurts, bad…"

Law walked up behind the woman, reaching out and gripping her hair firmly, holding back a shiver at the sensations that ran down his spine before pulling back and forcing her to look up at him. Her multicolored eyes were teary and wide as she recognized him. She smiled, before clenching her eyes shut.

"Headache. Bad. Hurts. Hurts."

"Oh?"

"Make it better?" she asked hopefully.

He grinned sadistically. The crew members had inched closer to see what was going on. Couri was going to throw a fit, but this was going to be worth it.

He gripped the scalpel tightly. "Say please."

"Pretty please, kinky Captain."

He chuckled. "With pleasure."

He stabbed her through the soft part of her temple, wiggling the scalpel around as she stiffened and then sighed contentedly.

He heard a bang in the corner, and grinned as he watched one of the assistant mechanics trying to wake the other. Another man looked like he was about to lose his lunch. Not Yas. The curly haired sniper looked as fascinated as Law felt.

"Better?"

"Much."

He pulled the scalpel out, the blood and a bit of brain matter leaking through the wound as it closed. He hummed thoughtfully, slightly disappointed that there was so little. He began carving intricate patterns on her face as she relaxed under his administrations, as if he was a painter and she was his canvas.

Oh Law could get used to this. Law thought briefly that cutting someone up would never hold a candle to mutilating this woman who was as happy with his actions as he was.

The other mechanic also fainted. Yas approached, completely fascinated. "Woah. She really does regenerate, huh. I've never seen a devil fruit power like that."

"Strangely, it's not a devil fruit." The blood was dripping down her neck and into her hair now. She was going to need another shower. Couri was going to throw a fit at the blood on his table, but Law frankly didn't care. He cut her ear half off, watching it reattach itself, stuck the blade in her mouth, splitting her tongue down the middle and slashing her cheeks on each side to widen her smile. He carved his initials, drew his Jolly Roger, even exposed and reshaped her jawbone. "I've done this with sea prism stone on her."

"… Then what the hell is it?"

"Don't know. Fun though." A few other men had wandered in. Samei was one of them. He had approached cautiously at first, but he was as fascinated as Yas. He was leaning quite closely now. Even Couri had come out from behind the counter. He had his arms crossed, fingers tapping in irritation mixed with fascination.

The blood had stained her uniform down to her chest now.

Law was wondering if those on laundry duty would be scolding him.

She looked so damn happy.

"Can… Can I try?" asked Samei hesitantly. Law hummed, looking back at the girl sitting under him. Her face was bloodstained but healed. She was humming lightly, but she opened her eyes and appeared disappointed that he stopped.

He decidedly didn't want to share.

Law had never been popular in the sandbox.

"No."

She reached a hand up, wiping the blood from her eyes with her sleeve but leaving the rest.

Law's grin faded slightly as he started mentally listing off every bone in the foot.

She smiled lazily, completely content. "Captain, Captain, my Captain… thirteen… king…"

He frowned. "King?"

"King."

He hummed lightly, but decided not to press the subject. "You're dirty."

"Says the kinky pirate. Hah. Kinky pirate looks for booty. Booty, booty, booty, rocking everywhere."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know?"

She tilted her head as best as she could with his grip on her hair. "Hm. Probably not. It's a bad song. Gets stuck in your head."

"… Are you done napping now?"

She frowned. "Napping?"

"Yes. You fell asleep at the table."

"… Oh. Opps."

He released her hair, looking at Couri. "Do you have a wet rag? She can clean up her mess."

That seemed to appease the gruff cook, who grumbled but complied, disappearing into the kitchen briefly. She was swaying in her seat, bobbing her head along to a song that he couldn't hear. He reappeared with a rag, a bucket full of soapy water, a spray bottle and two dry rags. He stood in front of her at the table, handing her the wet rag. She didn't see it.

Law leaned across the table to reach for the rag, holding it in front of the girl with one hand and gripping her shoulder roughly with his other. "Is-ya. Clean your face."

She stared at the rag. "… Woah. Did you magic that?"

He released her shoulder, gripping her head again and turning it to face the cook. "No. This is Couri. He's the cook, and he brought it."

"… Couri. Like… ice?"

The man nodded, and her eyes seemed to slowly focus on him. He frowned.

"… Captain, are those eyes…?"

That reminded him. "Is-ya, what color are your eyes?"

"Oh. Hazel. Lots of people have hazel eyes." She frowned. "I take that back. Not rare, but not common." She looked back up at the cook. "… I like your mustache. Does it dance?"

The cook's mouth twitched. "… Is-chan, you've created a mess in my space. Clean it."

She frowned. "Not me. Kinky Captain."

Law pulled her hair and waved the rag. "You asked for it. You clean it."

She reached out for the rag and slowly put it to her face, washing it off. She missed several spots, so Law released her hair and motioned towards Samei.

"Samei, you help her. Is-ya, this is Samei. He's going to help you. I have things to do."

She looked around at him for a second, panicked. "You're leaving?"

He grinned. "Yes. After you finish cleaning the mess, Samei will bring you to me. I'll be in the Freezer." He pointed to the floor where there was a puddle of blood. "Now clean. Faster you do, faster you get to see me."

She looked down where he pointed, registering that there was, indeed, a floor. Samei watched her, before taking the supplies from Couri's hands and allowing the man to return to the kitchen. He was now completely taken by the girl who had terrified him an hour earlier. She was already scrubbing the floor, intent on finishing quickly.

Truthfully, Law wanted to see if she would register anyone other than him if he wasn't in the room. This was a test.

Besides, he liked watching that panic in her eyes almost as much as he enjoyed her soft smile as he cut into her face.

Law turned and walked out of the rooms, twirling his bloody scalpel and humming to himself in satisfaction.

/././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

Props to anyone who guesses what exactly Isabelle references throughout the story. :P Although I admit that some are more obvious than others.

Read and review please!


	11. Chapter 11

Song: "A Spoonful of Sugar"

/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

Samei watched as his captain walked out the room, leaving him in charge of the newest member of the crew. He momentarily felt a swell of pride in his chest — his captain trusted him enough to look after her.

Samei was one of the newest members of the crew. As he was only eighteen, he was rarely trusted with more than a mop and leftovers from his Captain's experiments. Occasionally, especially recently, his Captain had gifted him with medical textbooks to study in his rare spare time.

He looked down at the woman that was scrubbing the floor clean of her own blood. For a moment, he just watched. Every so often the fresh blood on her clothes or face, the spots she hadn't yet wiped off, flecked off to the floor as she furiously scrubbed.

Samei twitched. She was also missing spots. It made Samei's skin itch and burn.

As much as he didn't particularly enjoy the fact that he was left with a lot of the clean up, it unfortunately made the most sense. Samei had an intense hatred for messes and anything dirty — outside of his Captain's operating theater. But even then, when he was done he would scrub down every crack until it gleamed. Dirt and mold in particular made him feel like bugs were crawling under his skin, and he would get increasingly desperate to scratch them out if it wasn't cleaned.

Law had diagnosed the him when they first met, and had immediately taken advantage.

Samei sighed, resigning himself. So long as he followed his Captain, which he would to to death, he would end up with a lot of cleaning. It was in his nature.

He'd never admit that he liked cleaning. Never.

"Wait, wait, stop, you're making it worse… Here…" He reached over to grab a clean rag, dipping it in the soapy water of the bucket and squeezing it out before wiping her face. She paused when he touched her, but didn't look at him. He gently washed the girl's face, sucking in a breath as he saw her eyes glance up.

She wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were too unfocused. Samei fought the blush at his cheeks as he admired her uniquely colored eyes and continued to wash the blood off of her face, hair, and neck. He briefly tried to wash some of it off of her suit, but stopped when he had to reach too low.

Damnit, he was training to be a doctor. He shouldn't have such a hard time with this.

But the men that had approached and were unperturbed by the scene they had just witnessed were already teasing him. Every time their Captain left the room, the men turned worse than average sailors in their blatant teasing and lewd comments. Samei was quite happy to join them in their teasing when he was not the subject of their taunts.

The girl had stopped moving. She was completely frozen, leaning forward on her knees on the ground, one hand still on the rag. Samei once again fought the blush rising to his cheeks. She was older than him, but she had one of those faces that were hard to place to an age. And that position… He shook his head, forcing himself to concentrate.

Samei pulled the rag away, satisfied at least that she wouldn't be dripped more blood but now concerned that she wasn't moving. He waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hello? Are you there? Ms. Is?"

She reached up suddenly, grabbing the hand and startling him. Her blank expression hadn't changed.

She was trembling.

"Uh…"

The teasing stopped. Some of the men around Samei were squirming. A couple abruptly left. Samei thought that it was ironic that they could handled watching their Captain cut into her face in such a gruesome manner, but the moment she stopped reacting and went stoic they got nervous. He glared at their retreating backs before turning back to her.

Not Yas. He was rarely fazed by anything. He took a knee next to Samei, observing the young woman in front of him.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. I was cleaning her and she just… faded."

The sniper studied her grip on Samei's hand. It was tight, but not deathly so. "Hm… Didn't Shachi and Penguin say she was incoherent before?"

Samei nodded. "Yeah. Something like that. She responded to Captain just fine, though."

"Huh. Weird. She's just… spaced out. It's like she's broken. Try moving your hand, see if she follows it."

Samei did as he was told, moving the wet rag he had used on her face towards the floor. He was still itching to clean it.

Her hand followed him. The movement seemed to reassure her, slightly. Her tremors lessened.

Samei grabbed her rag, using both to continue to wipe up the blood. Her hands followed his, as she just continued to follow the little circles he made on the floor. She smiled, her eyes still unfocused.

"… spoonful of sugar helps the medicine goes down…"

He looked up, bewildered as she was now bobbing her head and singing softly.

"… in a most delightful way…"

"Well… this is better than her looking scared, I guess," Samei said to Yas as he continued to scrub the rest of the floor clean. He moved to scrub the seat next, wringing the rags out in the bucket and dying the water a light red. She let go of her original rag, but not of his wrist.

"… A robin feathering his nest has very little time to rest…"

"Hm," hummed Yas as he tapped his chin. "Well, what was it that Captain said on that first day? About being mentally unstable?"

She giggled then, and Samei smiled shakily. The rest of the men had left, leaving just the cooks, Yas, Samei, and Is behind.

"… while gathering his bits of twine and twig…"

"I think the words 'mentally unstable' don't begin to cover it. Did you know she can see past, present, and future?"

Yas looked at him skeptically. "… No way."

"Totally does. Captain said so. He just asked her questions, and she answered them. It was kind cryptic, but she told Penguin that the 'snake lady' would tell him no, and she… uh… the sub was damaged by a sea king sometime last year, right? She talked about it and said something about a beach."

It was before Samei had joined. Yas considered her for a moment before he looked back at Samei, who was now spraying the area with the disinfectant bottle. Is hadn't let go of his wrist.

"No shit. Yeah, we had a beach party after we finished repairs. Captain had killed the sea king, and we got to enjoy a worry-free barbecue."

Samei nodded, before taking the last dry rag and wiping down the area, examining it closely for any missed spots.

"… And? Come on, there had to be more than that for Captain to convince you so thoroughly. The beach thing or Penguin's 'snake lady' wouldn't have you gotten you believing it."

"… She… Uh… Mentioned something." Samei shifted uncomfortably, turning to gather up the rest of the materials to return to the cleaning closet. She continued to hold onto his arm, but she had stopped singing. Her eyes darted around the room instead. He couldn't tell what she was looking at, but he wondered briefly exactly how much the young woman had seen about his past. Luckily, he managed to reach and open the kitchen's closet door with the hand she held without knocking her over, dumped the bucket in the mop sink and hang the bottle up on it's spot on the wall.

"Oh come on, don't leave me hanging. What happened?"

He held the bloodied and dirtied rags out. "I'll give you a hint if you take these down to the laundry for me."

"Me go to the laundry room for a hint? You're gonna have to give me more than that."

"Eyes. Eyes pop. Squelch."

Both men looked back at her, Yas curious, Samei pale. She grinned sadistically suddenly. "Bad boy. Punish, punish." She continued to make squelching noises, holding out her non-occupied hand to mime swishing things.

Samei turned back to the older man slowly. "A hint or nothing. Besides… she's worrying me."

Yas laughed. "Are you kidding? She seems like a perfect match for the crew to me. But fine, I'll take them down for you. After the hint, of course."

Samei grumbled. "She mentioned something that involves an incident with my father."

"See, that wasn't so hard." Yas swiped the rags from Samei's hand, chuckling darkly as he tossed them up in the air while he walked away. "Something that involves your father and eyes that were squished. Got it."

"O-oi! I never said anything-"

"It's okay, Samei, I get it, a lot of us have daddy issues-"

"I do not have-"

The hand gripped his wrist tightly. He looked to his side to see her frowning, other hand clutched to her chest.

"… the King…"

Yas hadn't noticed. The door closed quietly behind him as he left the room. Samei huffed, but looked back at the girl, his other hand on his hip as he regarded her. Her words nagged at him, and he realized why a moment later.

"King? Didn't the Captain say something about a King?" he asked her, then sighing, realizing that she wouldn't respond.

She shook her head, looking dejected. "The fire. It's dying. I hate this part."

"Yeah, yeah, you mutter, I steer. This way, lady."

He pulled her towards the door, but she didn't move, watching a corner in the room and completely fixated. He tugged a little more insistently.

"… Fire… can't win… Dark…" Her despairing tone started to upset Samei.

"Uh… Captain's waiting for you… This way to Captain!" He tried gesturing, and waving wildly in front of her.

She didn't budge. "Fire's gonna get caught."

Samei, rubbed the back of his head, and realized that he wasn't going anywhere until she stopped watching whatever she was watching.

Wait… was she having a vision?

It must be particularly important then. She usually just spouted off nonsense until something hit home… right?

Samei figured that his captain would know more than he would.

"Uh… Couri? Can you call Captain? Tell him… I think she's seeing something important." The man he had called looked through the window, saw her fixed gaze her unyielding grip on Samei's wrist. He wiped his hands and called their Captain, eyeing her uncertainly.

"… Sorry to bother you, Captain… Samei says that she's seeing something important…"

He leaned on from the counter, calling out to the young man. "What's she saying?"

"Something about fire dying? I don't know."

"… right. Something about fire dying… yes Captain." He hung up, and continued to chop, keeping one eye on the pair.

There was a moment of pause then, before she flinched. Her eyes never left the fixed spot in the air. She started shaking again.

"It's so dark. It's eating everything."

Samei just watched her carefully, deciding that he might as well memorize what she was saying. He was sure his Captain would question him later. Still, he tried tugging out of her hold again, lightly.

She let go.

That raised alarms in his head.

She crossed her arms in front of her, as if holding herself back. She began twitching, jerking, and muttering, seeming to argue with the air. Samei panicked.

"Hey, Is, Isabelle, it's okay, it's gonna be okay-"

Luckily, the door opened and his Captain arrived. He took in her demeanor as he approached slowly. He hazarded a quick glance in Samei's direction, just enough that Samei knew what he was asking.

"She said 'the King,' and then something about fire, and dark, and getting caught, and about the dark eating everything."

His Captain nodded, crossing his arms and watching her patiently. Samei shifted uncomfortably. "Should… we… I don't know, snap her out of it?"

Law grinned. "No." Samei huffed, relaxing slightly. He should have known that his Captain wouldn't comfort her.

… But Shachi had said that he was holding her earlier? Samei scratched his head before looking back at the distraught young woman next to them.

She sniffed, shivering, before swearing loudly and stamping her foot. "I don't wanna, don't wanna, I wanna help, I-"

She screamed, clutching her head as tears rolled down her face.

"Get out! Out! I want-"

She folded, collapsing to the ground, eyes blackened and open.

Samei's Captain sighed, looking disappointed.

Samei hadn't seen her blackened eyes before. "… Woah. Creepy."

His Captain approached her and crouched, lightly touching her face to examine her eyes before he spoke.

"If I remember right, the last time this happened it was because the shadows were mad at her."

Samei looked incredulously at his Captain. "… You can't honestly believe that, can you?"

His Captain looked back at him, and just smiled lazily, standing and shoving his hands into his pockets. He turned and began walking out the door.

"Uh, Captain, what about-"

"Just put her in my study on the couch. She'll wake up eventually. And I want a written account detailing everything exactly as you saw it immediately afterwards. And I mean _everything_."

"… Aye, Captain."

Samei's day had started off normal. He swore it did.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law considered the comatose girl in front of him. Her eyes were open and staring back at him, completely black. He sat across from her on one of the armchairs, the binder full of other bounty posters sitting open in his lap. On the coffee table in front of him sat a similar binder on mercenaries, another on unaffiliated, and another on the marines.

Law liked being thorough.

Whatever she saw, she didn't like it. It was interesting and a bit intimidating that these powers seemed to have a mind of their own. Lack of control rarely meant good things. Plenty of strong opponents have died from it.

So. Before it was that the fire would die, but his will lives on. She had gone back and forth between 'the will' and 'his will' a couple of times now. Judging on the report given by Samei, she had been saying that the fire was going to get caught, and that it would lose.

Fire could mean a lot of things. Passion, anger, lust. But the descriptions made it seem like the fire was alive.

Which left Law with a few options.

First being that the fire was some sort of elemental or mythical creature. Possible, but unlikely.

The next, the fire was a person. Which meant that the word itself, 'fire,' referred to this person in some way, shape or form. This narrowed the field down considerably.

There were several probabilities from here. Either the person had the name 'fire,' or that 'fire referred to their abilities. Unfortunately, there were several of those. If he considered specifically someone important, and someone with fire abilities, he had a reasonable list that included several bounty hunters, one of Doflamingo's Executives, and about a half dozen others.

But Law had crossed several names off of that list. Gladius for one, as well as a bounty hunter. Both had bomb abilities, but his instincts told him that neither was right. The rest were of varying importance, but three names in particular stuck out.

Marco the Phoenix, Admiral Akainu and Firefist Ace.

So. If he was right, one of them would be dying soon. Whichever one had just been captured.

Interesting. Considering what he now knew of Is, she did things when they were connected to him. So how were these men related to him? And that didn't answer what was meant by the will living on. Plus, this darkness that she was talking about… how can darkness catch anyone? There was no one that he had any information on that had powers of darkness. He had heard of some low-level pirate having some sort of eating ability, but Law rejected that idea. It just didn't fit.

His mind also circled around the fact that his knowledge was not infinite, that he did not know everything, and that even in stories seers rarely made sense until the events actually occurred.

Typical.

He gazed at her idly as he thought, resting his head on his propped up hand. He wondered if she was going to wake anytime soon. He was hoping to continue building her awareness before reaching Sabaody, but then she had to go and throw a tantrum. Judging on the report from Samei, even if he didn't know it, she was far more aware of him than she had been of anyone else so far. Besides Law, of course. Which meant either she was improving, or Samei had a similar connection to her as Law.

Law rejected that idea immediately.

He wanted her with him on the archipelago. Partially to see if she'd kill anyone again where he could watch, and partially because he wanted to see if she would be able to let him know if there was trouble around.

He supposed he should probably disguise her. He wondered if Doflamingo even knew she was missing yet. Certainly he would figure out Law had her if he started flaunting her healing abilities, and that was not something Law wanted to deal with yet.

He thought about something else. In his report, Samei had detailed that one of the first things she had said was "I hate this part." Meaning that she knew it was going to happen, and still wanted to stop it from happening. That tortured look on her face when he had walked in, as if she was physically fighting herself and trying to hold herself back — it was as if she personally knew whoever she was referring to, and still forced to stand back and watch them die.

An image of burning flashed through his mind. He pushed it aside.

She'd watched several people die just in his presence. She had laughed about someone dying in his infirmary. So this person, whoever he was… Did she have a connection with him as well?

He rejected that idea as well. That wasn't it.

The last time this had happened, he had thought he was the cause, that his torture methods had forced her into this state. Was he wrong?

The shadows being mad at her. That's how she had explained it before. This time she wanted to help someone, but her powers had prevented her from doing so. Were they… alive?

Were they really her powers or something… more?

He shook his head, pulling off his hat and placing it on the table before running his hands through his hair. He refused to believe that these shadows were more than a visual manifestation of her powers in her own mind. There was no other logical explanation.

He paused, looking back at her eyes.

There was no logical explanation for her.

He remembered that she was always looking past his shoulders for the shadows. That they seemed like they were always there, always watching him. He felt uneasy suddenly. and tried to shake it off. He was sure that there was a point where her visions ended and her schizophrenia began. There were no such thing as watchful shadows.

But if there were…

He wondering if they'd listen to him.

"Oi. Shadows. I need her to wake up by tomorrow morning if you want her to be of any use to me."

He didn't really expect them to listen. He pinched the bridge of his nose, not quite believing that he had just done that, before closing the binder and standing. He walked over to his bedroom, leaving the door open in case she woke up. If he was trying to talk to nonexistent shadows, then it was definitely time for bed.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law groaned, holding his hand to his face as he woke up. He tried to rub away the headache, and he knew immediately that he'd woken up too early.

He also knew that he would not be getting back to sleep. He swore quietly.

He sat up slowly, taking a moment to yawn, before registering movement to the side of his bed. Immediately alert, he turned to come face to face with Is. She was blinking up at him from the side of his bed, sitting cross legged on the floor, clothes still stained in blood, hair still slightly matted even with Samei's thorough cleaning, hazel eyes blinking at him slowly in a deceptively innocent way.

"… You snore. Tattoo touch?"

Law glared at the woman beside his bed, pulling back his covers and planting his feet in front of her. He leaned his shirtless body forward before hissing through clenched teeth, "Is-ya, what happened yesterday?"

"Uh. They mad. You called. Came back."

Law lunged. He grabbed her by the throat, growling, and pinned her up against his wall. She choked as he crushed her windpipe, her eyes wide and completely focusing on him. When she was no longer able to breathe, he coldly watched her struggle against him. He was livid.

The shadows had listened to him.

He kept the pressure as he spoke, his tone ice, cutting and cold, "Why are you here? Who are these shadows? And why are they so fucking interested in me, huh?"

He pulled her back and slammed her into the wall before speaking again, his voice low. "What are you, an immortal? A seer? My protector? Well some fucking protection you've been, you and those shadows who control you. I've done just fine so far." She was clawing at his hand. Even if she didn't need the air, it seemed that instinct was hitting first. Her face had turned purple, and Law could tell that the her brain had already run out of oxygen. He knew that it was exceedingly painful and uncomfortable, even for her.

He seethed, snarling through bared teeth, "I don't _need_ you." Using haki, his grip tightened enough to snap her neck, but he still didn't let go even as it reformed under his fingertips. His chest heaved, as he dully recognized his own racing heartbeat.

This scared him. This was against everything that he'd ever believed, everything he'd ever known. She defied reality in every possible definition of it. She couldn't die. She knew things future, past, and present. These shadows that she claimed liked him, what were they? Gods? Ghosts? She had claimed that darkness had captured fire. Was it the same as the shadows that haunted her, that made her scream while simultaneously — apparently — obeying his commands? How did he know that these… things… were really on his side?

She had sat and supposedly watched someone die, but the shadows had prevented her from doing anything even though she wanted to.

Why?

What made him different?

She stuck a finger in her mouth, struggling for a moment before biting the tip off with her teeth. Trembling fingers reached out for him, slowly, shakily. He froze as he watched. She tentatively touched him with her bleeding finger.

She started to draw on his skin with her blood.

He waited as she traced out her answer on his skin, his grip never slipping from her neck.

Having finished, she returned her hands to his grip on her. Only this time, she held his wrist gently, simply waiting for him to respond.

He was stunned. He wanted her to be wrong. He wanted it to be wrong. Something.

His grip loosed, and she dropped. He leaned over her, head and arms pressed to the wall, eyes closed as he took a shaky breath. She sat, wrapping herself around his leg as if afraid to let go.

The tension between them held for a moment before Law started laughing, thinking of every fucked up thing he'd ever been through leading him to this absurd moment. She watched him curiously as he straightened from his position on the wall. He bent to pull her up by her hair, forcing her to stand before pushing her toward the bathroom.

He had woken up early. There was no need for him to get up yet. There was an hour or so before breakfast would be served and anyone else would be up. In the bathroom, he could cut her to his heart's content. He reached into his pants from the night before, pulling out his scalpel, taking comfort in the fact that this time he wouldn't have to share.

Cheeky bitch. She was right, though, he supposed.

Whether the shadows were real or not, he abruptly decided that it didn't matter. He would take it as it came, just like every other thing that he had been through in his miserable existence.

He glanced down at his arm, reading those two words again before following her inside and closing the door.

 _'I do.'_

 _/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././_

Hey. You.

Yes, you.

I see you reading this. I've seen the view count.

So take a moment. Drop a review. Do it.

As a note, if you are a user I will reply to your review - the longer the review, the longer the reply. If you ask questions, I make no promises to answer in a satisfying manner, but I do promise to at least respond to them. :P


	12. Chapter 12

Over the next few days, Law fell into a pattern. He would wake up early, enjoy some time cutting into Is in the bathroom before a shower, and then send her off with Samei. They would spend most of the day together, and when Samei completed his daily duties he would report back to his Captain with everything the girl said and did. Once Samei dropped her off in his office, Law would examine her physically for a while before he returned to his work, and she would explore the office, fading in and out of reality until she passed out on his couch.

At first, she would always panic when forced to leave Law's presence, grabbing Samei's arm or wrist for reassurance. Throughout the day, she would relax a little bit, continuing her almost ceaseless mumbling. On the first day of this arrangement, Samei had tried to ask what to do about using the restroom if she wouldn't let go. Although not as innocent as he managed to seem, the young man was slightly horrified when Law just grinned.

She would panic, mutter, and attempt to hurt herself when forced to let go. Either the boy had to take this consequence and accept the fact that he would have to clean up the blood, or he would have to take the girl with him. Samei had not looked thrilled about either option.

While he never would outright damage his crew without permission, Law was at least as mischievous as his wayward mechanics. In his own sadistic, creepy way.

Like he had predicted, she started recognizing a little more of her surrounds each day, was able to hold coherent conversation with him a little longer, and even started to see Samei and respond directly to some of his words. Barely, but enough. It got to the point that when Samei and Law were in the same room with her, she was able to speak directly to the young man. Her personality seemed to bounce between flirty, fiery, sweet, despairing and sadistic with no warning, which kept both men on their toes.

During mealtimes, she sat and ate with Samei, Law, Shachi, and Penguin. He took great pleasure at first in the awkward air as his lead mechanics watched her eat. She always looked as fascinated as the first meal, and was consistently distracted with mutterings about various things that made no sense. Unlike the first day, she never repeated anything of any significance that hadn't already been said, and she didn't speak or react to anyone besides himself and Samei.

Unfortunately, this meant no new information. The fire was still dying, water would still ruin the dragon, the King was still important but unidentifiable, and there was something important about bubbles and the number thirteen. Other than that, everything was nonsense. It frustrated Law that even he couldn't seem to get any new relevant information from her, a frustration that he took out on her with intense prejudice.

He had to admit, he was addicted to make her bleed. It was a stress reliever he hadn't even realized he'd been wanting.

She also continued to fall asleep in random places, at random times, with little to no notice. It frustrated Samei and irritated Law, because whenever she woke up she seemed to need reassurance from the Heart Pirate Captain that the world was real.

He had begun to test everything about her from a medical standpoint, wondering if he could find answers in ways that made sense to him. But everything came back normal — well, everything except the fact that she was infertile. Which only confused him more. He had been sure that she honestly had a son, but from a medical standpoint that would have been impossible.

Had he been wrong? Was he pulled into some weird delusion of hers?

He supposed that it was possible that her son was adopted. But she also seemed so young. Upon close examination of her bones, brain, blood and tissues, she was somewhere between 21 and 24 — not quite 25. She had said Eric was four, which would mean that either she had adopted him before she realistically could have, or that she had just adopted him unreasonably young. Then again, Doflamingo's executives weren't very old when they had taken in Law. Corazon himself was only 26 when he died. Then again, with her healing ability she could very well be immortal. Which posed the question of whether or not she was the way she was because a previous user of the Ope Ope no Mi had performed the Eternal Youth Surgery on her.

It certainly made sense. It even explained her responses to him — if she was that special to a previous user of the fruit, then she could be reacting to his powers and not him. Some people had described his operating rooms as a sensation of electricity, even if that was not the sensation that Law felt.

Again, that didn't explain shadows or the circumstances that she had described. Nor the cracks she saw.

Was anything that she said real?

If Doflamingo had reached the same conclusion as Law, then it certainly explained why he had taken her in the first place.

Other than that, everything was perfectly average. Average white blood cell count, average bone density, average hormone levels… And not just close to the average, but always directly in the middle.

It was now the fifth day since she had protected James. The man was back to light duty, just the cleaning rooster that everyone except Law participated in so long as he never felt dizzy. Law had started his journeys in this ship on the duty rooster, but his crew had quickly excluded him from the chores. They were right, in their way. Law had much more important things to be doing.

Like trying to answer his questions.

Currently he was in his Freezer. He had completed autopsies on all of the bodies that she had decimated in his hallway, reaching an incomplete picture of the events.

Those with the exploded chests really had been exploded from the inside, not the outside. Their insides were little more than goo, much like the damage after using Gamma Knife. This unfortunately told him very little about _how_ she had done so, only that she had. The one with a hole through his chest was much easier to figure out. It was clearly a blow as he had originally thought, although it would be hard to tell what kind of blow it had been. The last two had snapped necks, and were the simplest to diagnose.

Of course, most of the carnage had happened before they died, so the causes of death were hardly singular.

Damnit. He wished he had seen it. But he had a feeling that if he had been present, she wouldn't have done it at all. Besides trying to hurt herself, she was non-violent around the crew and docile around him.

In the last few days, they'd come across one pirate ship and a cruise ship — both they had raided and decimated. Even though she had walked out with Law, there was no flash of anger or protective instincts. She didn't attack anyone, nor did she protect his crew. This did not stop the other pirate crew from attacking her, although she had been faded out and didn't even notice that they did.

In retaliation, Law took his time mutilating those left alive before sending them on their way. All except the opposing Captain and first mate — the Captain he left virtually unharmed after collecting his heart, and the first mate he took prisoner for later. Law was quite happy with his choice of subject. The man was currently waiting in a not-obliterated cell below for his attentions. He still remembered the look on the man's face when he had seen the broken bars. Law had simply told him that the crew member of his that had done had then promptly enjoyed brutally murdering a threat to his ship.

The man had been surprisingly meek after that. Law doubted the man knew what was in store for him. He was already planning pretending to kill the immortal woman in front of him. Maybe just wait until he was asleep and wake him up to the sound of him cutting into one of the heads she had left him. Bone saws were quite loud, after all.

He chuckled, and Samei looked up at him from the other side of the room. Having finished his inspections of the bodies, he was giving the young man a chance to fiddle with the pieces. It was amusing to see someone else on his crew so thoroughly enthralled with dead bodies as he was.

Samei, like many of the men on his ship, was highly intelligent in his way. As Law had said, he was not as innocent as he appeared. He would be a good surgeon one day. Not as good as Law, but he was on his way.

Then again, Law had already finished his unofficial doctorate when he was Samei's age. Unofficial, because no university would accept his using live people to practice with. Which was too bad. In Law's humble opinion, there was nothing better.

Especially when you did it without any anesthesia.

How else would you know when you hit nerves?

Samei seemed to realize that Law wasn't about to share his thoughts, so he returned to examining the body in front of him, medical textbook open beside him as he tried to dissect the man's hand and name every ligament. Is was currently asleep on the floor, curled up against the floor with a blanket wrapped around her. She didn't seem to notice the cold, but nothing would convince Samei of that.

Law supposed that he would have to talk with the young man at some point. He had seen the man blushing when he looked at her. As amusing as it was, he would have to remind the boy that a mental patient was hardly a fitting sexual partner.

He ignored the thought that passed through his head.

Besides, Law wanted to know if she would get hypothermia. It hardly seemed possible at this point.

He noticed Samei sneaking glances at her, finally bringing Law out of his thoughts.

"Out with it, Samei."

The boy jumped at Law's voice. He looked sheepish, putting his tweezers and scalpel down as he looked back at the girl, concern on his face.

"Captain… Do you know who Eric is?"

Law's breath hitched for a moment before he forced himself to close off whatever feeling was trying to push through. He had a reputation to maintain, damnit. He leaned against a counter, folding his arms across his chest before eying Samei from under the brim of his hat.

"Why?"

Samei glanced back at Law before continuing, slowly, as if he was unsure of what he was trying to describe.

"We… we were cleaning the hall earlier and she started crying and shaking her head. Something about Eric having forgotten her."

Law waited for him to continue, not giving anything away yet. He knew that there was more.

"Uh… I asked her what she meant, and she curled up and said that she had been replaced, that he was calling someone else now, and that he didn't remember her anymore. That he'd gotten too old. Something about marriage."

"… Is that it?"

Samei nodded. "Captain, was it… her boyfriend or something?"

The boy's jealously was amusing, but unwarranted. Law's eyes narrowed. "Samei, may I remind you that Is-ya is a mental patient and severely disturbed. Don't make me regret having you care for her."

The boy flinched, visibly, reading exactly what Law implied. "Yes, Captain."

The boy started to reach towards the hand again, picking it up and peering into the flesh, but Law could tell he was distracted by his thoughts. Even if Samei cut off his attraction to the girl, the boy was still impressionable enough to care deeply for her well-being. He was the kind of man that didn't make attachments often, but when they did they reached to his very core.

It was why he was so damn loyal to Law.

Law spoke softly. "Eric is her son."

Samei jerked up, eyes wide. Law continued, the boy's attention rapt to his face. "I don't know details, so don't ask. I'm sure you've noticed that when she's singing, they are usually children's songs — even if we don't recognize them. Of course, it could be a delusion of hers. We may never know."

Samei's anguish was plain on his face. He rarely attempted to hide his emotions from Law anymore. Law wasn't sure if it was because of a misplaced sense of comfort, or because the boy simply knew Law could read him too well.

"So… when she says that he forgot her, and the replacement…"

Law spoke quietly again, his tone carefully even. "We already know that she sees things. She watches him. If she says he's forgotten her, he probably has. If he's real."

Samei nodded slowly, seeming to have lost interest in the arm in front of him. Law sighed. He would give the boy a moment to process his feelings before he attempted to break him out of it. It was certainly food for thought that she had mentioned that Eric had gotten too old — was she watching the future, or had that much time really passed? How old was too old?

Or was it all a delusion?

He shook his head before addressing Samei. "Don't think about it too hard. She forgets about him, too."

"She does? I… I guess that makes sense, given her condition. She forgets about everyone." He frowned. "Well, except for you."

Law chuckled. "Don't read too much into that. I have a theory as to why that is, and it has nothing to do with my charming good looks."

"Huh?"

"If you're so interested, I suppose you are ready to be tested. You must have finished if you are so eagerly off topic."

The man paled. "No, please, not yet! I'm not ready for the consequences!"

Law chuckled evilly. He may never intentionally damage crew without consent, but his devil fruit made for interesting punishments.

 _Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

He walked over to the mini snail, answering Bepo's call.

"Captain! Sabaody is in sight! We'll be there in an hour."

Law smiled again, an excited glint in his eye. "Announce it. Everyone already has their duties. Bepo, remember, find a coating specialist first thing. We won't be staying there long."

Law hung up, his heart hammering in his chest.

 _Finally_. They would make it to the New World. He would find the answers to his questions, and begin to dismantle Doflamingo's base. His plan was not fully formed, but he had waited eleven years for this. He was excited to finally begin.

* * *

As they drew closer, Bepo was instructed to find an expert to coat the ship. Couri and his assistants would be piling up their supplies in the kitchen. James and Samei were instructed to find and stock up on medical supplies (with Samei to keep an eye on the gruff James, who was still recovering from his concussion). Shachi and Penguin were to stay on the ship and make sure that it would be ready to leave. No one would be leaving for a bar tonight, and although a few were disappointed in the lack of partying, they were excited about heading to the New World. Even the most woman-or man-whoring of his crew wanted to go to the island of mermaids.

That left Law free to do what Is had instructed him to do — check out grove thirteen.

He had woken her up after hanging up with Bepo by pulling her up by her hair and cutting it short. Now was as short as his own, just long enough for him to be able to pull it comfortably. If Doflamingo was looking for her, her newly short hair, newsboy cap provided by his crew, and the uniform should disguise her well enough for now. He wondered if he should get her sunglasses to hide her eyes.

Actually, he was a little surprised that her hair hadn't immediately grown back. He kicked himself for not testing this earlier, but he supposed it made sense that he hadn't. Cutting her hair didn't produce blood. Thinking about it, he noticed that her arms and legs remained hairless after he had skinned them a few days ago, but was now a fine stubble. Meaning that her hair grew back at a normal rate.

More food for thought.

Now they sat on the deck, watching the approach the mangrove roots of Sabaody Archipelago. The crew members not currently needed below were out on the deck, enjoying the fresh air and gawking at the bubbles clearly visible as they rose from the ground. The Surgeon was leaned against the side railing, nodachi resting evenly on his shoulder and twirling his scalpel in thought. He had watched with his crew for a while, but now he was focused on their resident schizophrenic.

She was facing the island, pacing back and forth, breaking her individual fingers much as a normal person would wring their hands. She was muttering nervously as she paced, too quietly for Law to hear.

Bepo ran out on the deck then, a grin on his face in the face of the breeze. He had been down below steering until they got close enough to be out of danger of the currents, and instructed those down below on what grove to dock at. He flopped on his stomach, basking in the glory of being cool before Shachi and Penguin excitedly began pointing out the bubbles and asking questions.

Is stopped pacing. She now watched Bepo, eyes locked on as she continued breaking her fingers.

Interesting. He waited to see what it was about his longtime friend and navigator that had caught her attention as they started to weave through the trees.

"Woah, look at that ferris wheel! Man, that place looks like so much fun-"

"I bet there are babes there-"

"Not for you there ain't-"

"-you heard what the Captain said-"

"Captain," Shachi called out, "can we go with Bepo, there's really no need for us to be on the ship when Yas and Lixue are here. Besides, no one should be alone-"

"Oi! That's not fair, I have to stay here, too-"

Law held up a hand. "You're right, Bepo should not be going alone. Lixue, you can go with him."

"Aw, Captain~" whined Shachi and Penguin together while Lixue punched the air as he cheered.

Close enough to dock, they dropped the anchor and started jumping off in their set groups. Shachi and Penguin waved sadly from the railings as Law reached forward to grab the schizophrenic's arm to pull her to the shore with him as Bepo crouched to jump down and join Lixue on the ground. Before Law could grab Is's arm, she disappeared.

No, disappeared wasn't the right word for it. She had just moved that fast.

Turning as if in slow motion he saw her standing in front of Bepo, eyes alight, poised to strike. Bepo, shocked and terrified of the sudden appearence, fell backwards and scooted away.

And just as quickly as she had jumped, she was back to before, nervously pacing back and forth as she broke fingers and muttered to herself. She clutched her head as she seemed to fight off the only pain she ever reacted to — those headaches.

Law already had his sword drawn, stalking towards her as he panicked inwardly.

He had thought that his crew was safe.

He was wrong.

Before he could attack, she kneeled in front of Bepo, hugging the bear around his neck and crying.

"… No, no, never hurt you, no, no, wouldn't do it, wouldn't, not safe, sorry, sorry, no hurt you, never hurt you, don't go, don't go, stay here, no go…"

… The hell?

Shachi, Penguin, Law, and Bepo all froze in total confusion.

"Uh… C-C-Captain?"

Bepo gingerly reached around to hug the girl in front of him, before apologizing to her. She stiffened momentarily, and then clutched his orange jumpsuit tightly. She was shaking again, terrified of something.

Law leaned over the railing as Luxie looked curiously back up. "Come up here, Luxie. You've been delayed."

"Huh? Captain, what happened? I heard Shachi and Penguin scream."

Law shook his head, sheathing his sword and walking over to crouch in front of the hysterical woman who had now wrapped herself lovingly against the same mink that she had just tried to attack.

Or did she?

Fuck, he didn't know anymore.

He looked first to his navigator, studying his friend's face. He would judge the level of anger he felt against her by the bear's level of fear. He realized that, unlike the others, the mink had taken most of his meals in the navigation room and had very little contact with the girl in the last few days. He waited, reading the bear's eyes.

"Um, Captain? I… I don't think she was going to actually attack. I… I don't know how else to describe it."

Damnit, she had gotten the bear to side with her. Law sighed, placing his beloved sword on the ground, then reaching out and tugging on her now short hair under her loose, black, newsboy cap. The tingling helped calm him slightly before he spoke.

"Is-ya, I hope you have a very good explanation for this, or I may not forgive you for attempting to attack Bepo."

She looked back at Law, and for the first time, there was no bullshit.

"If you leave this island and head to the New World now, you will all die."

Law's grip on her hair tightened. His heart stopped.

He'd been planning for years. He was ready for the New World, he had his plans set, his people in place, his crew had been training day and night-

"Law, I'm serious. If Bepo leaves this ship and finds you a coater, you will die. You have to trust me on this."

Never. Never had she ever looked so clear and confident in her words before. She'd never looked so grounded even at her most coherent. He slowly released her hair.

Was this… the real her?

Bepo had his arms around Is still, and asked her quietly, "Is that what you were doing? Trying to protect me?"

She looked back at him and nodded. "I'm sorry, Bepo. I didn't mean to scare you. I couldn't tell what it was until you were about to jump. I wouldn't have actually hit you, and even if I did it I doubt it would hurt. It's hard to explain. You can wander and relax, but we can't leave this place yet. Law has to meet someone."

"The King," Law said suddenly. Shachi and Penguin were sitting closely now, looking spooked but amazed at how clear she was. Lixue had joined them on the deck, but he had always been one of the more suspicious of her and remained on the railing, glaring.

"Yeah, I think so. Wait, I think it's two someones. It's kinda hazy. More like a gut feeling than anything. I'm sorry." She looked behind her into the trees. "I know I'm supposed to go that way."

"Is the King that way?"

She frowned. "I honestly don't know. I think I'll know when I see him. Or her. Or it."

She eyed Law, before leaning towards him. "I don't…" She was looking at him with growing confusion. "Wait. You're… That's impossible. You're Trafalgar Law. You're…"

Her eyes unfocused, and she slipped into delirium.

No one moved as the young woman began muttering unintelligibly. Law slowly pushed her hat down on her head before standing up and walking towards the railing arms crossed.

This would push back all of his plans, but it was worth it if she was right. If nothing else, it wouldn't hurt.

Damnit it all. He finally had a coherent woman for half a second before she slipped. He could have asked her anything in that moment, but he'd been too goddamn caught off guard.

He glanced through the trees, orienting himself in his mind. That direction that she had pointed was towards grove thirteen. So that confirmed that theory.

Should he punish her? He didn't know. He honestly didn't know if he could. She never seemed to register anything as a punishment, even the day that he had tortured her.

Fuck. His life wasn't always this convoluted. She just had to go and throw a wrench into his plans.

He wondered briefly if that was why she had been acting so nervous. If he had just asked instead of watching, would she have explained? He frowned, remembering her phrasing. A gut feeling that she didn't understand?

No. The way that she had levelheadedly described it — that wasn't the same as before. Something had changed in that moment. Something that he couldn't understand. Even when he thought he had her figured out, she still managed to do something that dispelled every conclusion he had drawn.

He glanced back. Bepo was still sitting up with her in his lap. She had turned around and was leaning backwards, singing animately.

"Jack and jill went up the hill-"

Bepo himself had wrapped his arms around her middle and was bobbing her head along. Shachi and Penguin were both sitting in front her, pretending to conduct and chatting excitedly. It seems that despite her methods, they had decided that her heart was in the right place. This incident would surely be remembered by both as the day they decided to stop being afraid of her and started accepting her.

"-Jack fell down and broke his crown-"

Damnit. There goes his mealtime entertainment.

"Bepo. Call the teams. The usual. We're staying until further notice."

Shachi and Penguin both cheered, but Lixue looked incredulous. "Captain, you can't honestly-"

The look on Law face shut Lixue up. Law stuffed a hand into his pocket, pulling open the sub door and slamming it behind him.

If he was going to stay, and if he couldn't punish her, then damnit he was going to punish someone. He still had that pirate down below. And he was going to make that man scream.

He stalked into his operating theater, taking off his hat and tossing it onto a table full of instruments in the corner that he didn't plan on using. He left the operating room door open and put a rock on the table.

Door open would mean his crew would hear the man's screams, and he would be left in peace. He was feeling particularly bloodthirsty, so he grabbed a bone saw before summoning his room and teleporting the unfortunate man to the table under the straps. With one hand, Law tightened the straps while the other man oriented himself. He started mumbling incoherent gibberish in his panic.

Just like the fucking bitch outside.

So Law decided to make him scream instead.

Screams were better. Law understood screams. Screams were simple.

He started with the man's toes as he was already barefoot, turning on the saw and relishing in sadistic delight as the man began to scream. He took his time, cutting as slowly as possible. He had specifically chosen the saw with the dullest blade.

Dull blades hurt more.

Fucking bitch.

He had to wait until she was ready to leave this stupid island.

She could wait until Law was ready to leave for grove thirteen.

He took a metal file next, holding it on top of the man's bleeding appendage with one hand, and below with the other. He pulled the flesh up between the toe bones with force, purposely ripping through the flesh and separating the lengths of bones until he broke into the bones in the mid foot. He repeated this in the space between all ten of the toe bones as he recreated sections in place of the man's toes. The man was losing quite a bit of blood now, so Law turned around and grabbed a tourniquet to cut off blood flow to the man's feet.

This was good. He could understand this. This made sense to him.

He replaced the metal file, opting for a scalpel and forceps, cutting into the man's thigh until he exposed the man's nerves. The man passed out, so Law used his forceps to pinch the exposed nerve to wake him up. It worked.

He then repeated this on the man's other thigh, clamping forceps into the exposed air. He turned and grabbed a taser, setting it to the lowest setting, before chuckling madly.

"You'll have to tell me what the currents feel like on your exposed nerves. You'll have to tell me, pain scale from one to ten, what does this feel like?"

The screeches were music to Law's ears. "Oh? That wasn't a number. You must not have felt it. Let's turn it up a notch, shall we?"

They reached a new octave. Out of curiosity, he turned it up to the highest setting, watching the muscles dance as they spasmed uncontrollably, exposed to the air. Law wanted to see more, so he began to carefully skin the man's legs to expose the muscles.

"You see, I'd give you anesthesia, but unfortunately you've eaten recently. Don't want you to die choking on your own vomit."

He took another pair of forceps and jabbed them into one of the exposed muscles on the side of his leg, gleefully watching the muscles contract in pain.

Law had blood transfusion packets. He would have to give this man a few soon to extend the fun.

Not yet. Not just yet.

Law wasn't ready. He was going to slowly rip this man's entire nervous system out of his body. It was one of the most painful ways to die imaginable. Law was dead set on finding ways to make it more so. When he was done, he could give the nerves to Samei to study. Recycling and all that. But not before this man suffered.

Someone had to be punished, after all.

* * *

Is giggled gently. "Captain's evil. I like him."

"Hm? Why do you say that, Is?" Penguin scooted closer. He wasn't expecting her to answer. She never did.

They hadn't moved yet since their Captain had slammed the sub door after issuing the order that they would be staying on the island. Bepo had pulled out a den den mushi and called everyone to let them know the abrupt change in plans. There were a few cheers, a few who asked about a nearby inn, and a couple who grumbled angrily about a Captain who changed his mind without warning. Currently, Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo were discussing going to the amusement park while Is stayed happily incoherently in Bepo's lap.

She pointed to the door. Penguin blinked, before standing up and opening it to the sounds of screams.

Her sadistic smile could give Law a run for his money, Penguin abruptly decided. Either way, he was glad that, for whatever reason, both of them were on his side. He gulped, wondering if she was somehow seeing what his Captain was doing. He shut the door, looking at Shachi who shrugged.

"Let's just leave Captain alone for now," said Shachi.

"Yeah, you're probably right," said Penguin, rubbing the back of his head.

Bepo was looking concerned at the door before he sighed. "He's really mad about this. He's been dead-set on the New World for a while now." Bepo looked down at the girl in his arms, who was back to singing now.

"… Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch the water… Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after…"

/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

Song is a nursery rhyme - "Jack and Jill"


	13. Chapter 13

Shachi, Bepo, and Penguin continued to spend their time idly outside for the next few hours. None of them would risk the wrath of their Captain by leaving, especially not in his current mood. Instead, they relaxed under the sun, entertaining themselves by chatting about what they would do first at Sabaody Park and wondering what the schizophrenic was seeing now. She had not left Bepo's hold in that time, even falling asleep twice as late morning passed into early afternoon.

Finally, around three o'clock, Yas joined them on the deck, sitting next to Penguin and leaning back on his hands and he looked at the girl as she glanced into several directions in rapid secession and mumbled darkly.

"Hey, Penguin?"

"Hm?"

"You said that she told your future when Law asked, right?"

"Uh, I think so. I still haven't met any 'snake ladies' though."

Yas paused, a mischievous smile growing on his lips as a thought flashed passed his head. "Do you think she'll tell us about Captain?"

Penguin laughed. "Yas, you do realize that the only ones that she ever responds to are Captain and Samei, right?"

Yas smirked as Shachi poked Penguin hard in the cheek. "Liar. She responded a few hours ago to you. Dumbass."

Penguin rubbed his cheek and glared at his friend. "That was different, you know that. She started it. Maybe she would've pointed even if I didn't ask."

Yas hummed before Shachi explained how she pointed out that Law was torturing the pirate that they had captive.

"Oh? Hm. Well, she's responded indirectly to conversation before. What've we got to lose?"

Shachi gulped. "Uh, our heads? I don't think the Captain would appreciate us prying."

Yas tutted while shaking his head. "Shachi, we aren't prying. We live to serve our Captain. How better than by understanding him so that we can best protect him."

Penguin grinned. "Oh, I see…" he winked at Shachi before continuing, "we're just looking out for number one."

Bepo frowned and shook his head. "I don't think you guys should. He's in a bad enough mood as it is. And besides, she already told us our future once today. Don't you think that it tires her out?"

"Says the bear who sleeps fifteen hours a day," grumbled Penguin, who crossed his arms.

Shachi shook his head. "Bepo, why don't you let Yas try. I doubt that she'll respond, anyway."

Bepo still looked unsure, but Yas was already reaching forward and touching Is lightly on the arm. "Hey Is, can you tell us about Captain?"

She blinked, and then frowned. "… stars, soon…"

Yas hummed, noting it for later. Penguin leaned forward, doing his best to imitate his Captain's voice. "What about the stars?"

She snorted, before giggling. "… Wrong, wrong, wrong again… "

Shachi sighed, shaking his head at his friend. "See? Even she thinks that your impressions suck."

Penguin glared back at his friend. "You don't know that. Maybe she isn't responding at all and is still muttering about other things."

Yas gripped her arm a little harder now, shaking it gently. "Is there anything we should know about our Captain - Trafalgar Law?"

She tilted her head, before looking straight up and peering into the treetops above. She had gone quiet, and the three men leaned in closely, waiting with baited breath. Penguin swallowed loudly in anticipation.

"… all eleven… " She gripped her head and shook it, looking in another direction and began mumbling again. "… kittens munch… party…"

"… that's just not fair, she never answers us," Penguin huffed, crossing his arms as he leaned back.

"What's not fair, Penguin-ya?"

All three men jumped. Penguin himself turned ghost white at the tone of his Captain's voice. The fact that he had added the suffix to Penguin's name was a bad sign. "C-C-Captain, w-what a coincidence. W-When did you-"

The man himself crouched right in front of Penguin, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he spoke softly. "When do you think, Penguin-ya?"

Penguin began mumbling incoherently and pointed to Yas with a trembling finger. Bepo pitied his friend and bravely attempted an explanation. "C-Captain, they were just worried about you and wondering if she knew anything… I'm sorry."

"So weak!" Shouted Shachi and Penguin.

Law chuckled, and both mechanics shivered in fear at the sound. "Yas, I know that you're trying to get back at them for putting salt in your coffee yesterday, but this was a little too far, don't you think?"

His fearless sniper gulped and released his hold on Is's arm. "Sorry, Captain."

He glanced back at the incoherent girl in front of him. "Although it is a good thing to ask. I suppose I should ask her before we have any other… surprises." He moved to crouch in front of her, tilting his head as he observed her for a moment.

She didn't see him.

He frowned.

"Is-ya."

She didn't look at him, her mumbling stayed jumbled and incoherent.

Law was tired. He sighed, reaching for her chin to force her gaze, prepared for the jolt he was sure to feel.

He flinched when he touched her, and his world stopped. For a moment, Trafalgar Law forgot how to breath. She started just as much, eyes wide as she focused in on him. The strength of the jolt was the same as that first touch, that first day.

She blinked slowly before squinting and leaning closer to him, completely confused.

"… Who are you?"

They were back to square one.

Fuck.

Law considered her for a moment. He just never caught a break with this infuriating woman.

"My name is Law."

She nodded slowly. "… Are you a doctor?"

He released her chin, grabbing her arm and forcing her to stand as he pulled her from Bepo's hold. His crew at least had the sense to keep their mouths shut as they moved out of the way. "In a sense. I'm your Captain."

"Oh… Okay… are the stars here yet?"

Finally. New information.

He hummed before answering. "Who are the stars?"

She smiled absentmindedly, and giggled. "Silly. You're are."

"… I'm a star?"

She nodded. "There are more. I think. They're coming. Maybe. Maybe not. Going to the big house with the boom. Bad house. I don't think I like the house." She frowned. "Maybe I do."

He was a star, with more coming, and there was a big house that was important. There was an article that he'd read last week in the newspaper when he had been updating his profiles of different pirates. It had coined the term 'supernova' for several rookie pirate groups with high bounties in the area. He was listed in that group. And a supernova was a dying star.

"Do you mean the supernovas?"

She giggled, and leaned in quite closely to his face. "I like your eyes. You're handsome."

He smirked in response as he heard a strangled sound coming out of his crew member's throats. "Sorry, you're not my type. I prefer my women sane." He supposed if it hadn't had been for that insanity, he may have actually been interested. She was attractive, even with the stubborn tilt of her chin.

Then again, they probably would have never met if she was sane.

She giggled. "Too bad," she sang lightly, turning around, and looking confused. "Have you seen Eric? He's probably looking for me."

He kept his voice carefully even as he spoke. "He's elsewhere. We're going to Grove 13. Do I need to drag you the whole way, or can you walk?"

She tilted her head. "Bubbles."

"Bubbles?"

She pointed. "Bubbles."

Bepo cleared his throat. "Uh, Captain, they make bikes with the bubbles that you can ride around on."

He glanced at the bear standing not too far away. "Thanks. Everyone here is to stay. Shachi, Penguin, and Yas, consider yourselves confined to the sub until further notice. Bepo, you're in charge." He turned back to the girl, who was fading in and out again. "Is-ya, I'm not riding a bubble. You can walk or be dragged." He released her, walking to the railing and pointed to the ground. "Jump."

She blinked, walked over to the railing and jumped down lightly to the ground. Law joined her a moment later before saying briskly, "Follow me."

She obeyed quietly as they began the journey to Grove 13.

This was new. He wondered if it had anything to do with who he needed to see in Grove 13 before he pushed her out of his mind. He had a lot of other things to think about besides the mystery woman beside him. Things that actually had answers.

* * *

It was almost a forty-five minute trek over bridges and different areas before they finally stepped foot on Grove 13. They had kept out of sight for the most part, as Is had gone back to her usual muttering. He didn't want to be bothered by the usual passerby. His mood was murderous enough.

Once there, Law realized he didn't have a clue what he was looking for. He turned back to Is, pulling on her ear to get her to look at him and ignoring the particularly strong jolt to his system.

"Is-ya, where am I supposed to go?"

She blinked up at him, confused for a moment before looking over his shoulder. "Shadows say… are you Law? Law and Order? SPU? That's bad shit."

He sighed, releasing her. He figured that if he wandered around enough, something was sure to happen.

He knew he would have to stop somewhere for a cup of coffee soon.

He started off. This grove was in the lawless section, and he held his sword ready at his shoulder. He was sure that at some point, someone would try to attack him.

Unlike the previous groves that they had walked through, this one was fairly empty. He turned to look at his companion, only to find that she was staring off in the direction of something in particular.

"… What do you see, Is-ya?"

She didn't respond. Instead, she began to run towards an odd set of stairs. Law watched her for a moment before he followed her, his smile amused and his senses piqued. This was none of the speed she had shown earlier. He was surprised at her sure-footedness.

Obviously something was making her focus. It amused him that, for once, it was not him.

She hopped up the stairs, not pausing for a moment as she reached the top and ran towards the bar that was situated at the top. Law raised an eyebrow at the name, not quite believing that there was actually a bar with the phrase 'rip-off' in the title that was actually in business. Although, he supposed from the moss that grew on the outside and the slightly dilapidated look that it wasn't very prosperous.

Is never hesitated, walking right to the door before opening it.

"Is-ya, wait-"

Too late. She disappeared inside. Law growled under his breath before following her with a scowl.

"Is-ya, you-"

He stopped. She was hugging someone and chatting excitedly. That was certainly not normal Is behavior. Law took a moment to study the woman carefully before acting.

The woman appeared young, but Law had a suspicion that she was older than she looked. She had black hair that was cut in a bob to frame her delicate features, a cigarette hanging from her lips. Her coal-black eyes were gazing softly at the young woman hugging around her middle. Her tank top did very little to hide her buxom curves, and her low-riding pants were ostentatious at best. She looked up as Law entered, a contemplative gaze replacing her earlier soft smile.

"-found you, found you, found the shiny one, in thirteen with the bubbles and the smell-"

The most telling thing about the woman that immediately put Law on guard was the fact that she did not look the least bit surprised by Is. Law smiled lazily, not giving anything away and waiting for her to make the first move.

"So. I suppose you came in with this one?"

Law nodded, slowly.

She sighed, looking back at the girl. "I know, you've found me. I know."

Is then let go of the woman and wandered further into the bar, humming about following shining lights. The woman watched her sadly for a moment, before turned around and lifting up the bar to enter behind it.

"Come and take a seat, Supernova Trafalgar Law."

Law's grin widened. "So you've heard of me?"

"It's hard not to. And I make it my job to know things. My husband always said I am too nosy for my own good."

She turned around, grabbing a glass and pouring a generous helping of whiskey. Law debated for a moment, taking the opportunity to glance at Is. She sat on the couch, completely at ease and muttering incoherently. He pulled his sword down from his shoulder, taking a seat at the bar cautiously and leaning his sword against it. He didn't drop his suspicion of the woman. It was possible that this was a trap, and that she worked for Doflamingo.

But he trusted Is. He didn't know why, after all the shit she pulled. But he did.

Besides. He was curious.

She crossed her arms in front of her, leaning back against the opposite counter as she faced Law. "My name is Shakky, and I'm the owner of this bar. I suppose you don't know why you're here."

Law considered the woman, keeping his tone even. "I was bored. Went for a walk. Ended up here."

She chuckled. "We both know she brought you here."

Law's grin widened. "Now I'm curious. You seem so familiar with her. I didn't realize she had friends."

She took a long drag on her cigarette, turning to gaze softly at the girl mumbling distractedly on the couch. Something flashed briefly across her face, but it was gone before Law could recognize it.

"Technically, we've never met."

"Could've fooled me."

She glanced back at Law then, amused. "Mr. Trafalgar, I'm sure by now you've noticed that nothing she does is without reason."

Law's smile faded slightly as he propped his chin on his hand, gazing at the woman in front of him. "You seem to know quite a bit about her for someone who says they've never met."

The woman's calculating eyes took him in, studying every inch of him. Law didn't budge, and didn't stiffen. He remained relaxed with a lopsided smile. They were playing a dangerous game, neither one quite ready to make the first move. Several minutes passed by before she spoke again. "Do you want to know?"

Law grinned. He had won.

"Know what?"

She stepped forward, putting out her cigarette in the ashtray before lighting a new one and placing it between her lips. She watched Is in the corner, as she'd fallen asleep on the couch.

"You want to know who she is, don't you?"

"And here I thought you didn't know each other."

The woman flashed him a smile. "I said we've never met. But I know her. I can give you some of the answers, but know that my knowledge on the subject is not as complete as I'd like."

"Forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious that someone who owns a rip-off bar is going to give me something for free."

She chuckled again. "You're right to be suspicious. Normally, I would charge you. But in this case, you'll be paying a price without me taking your money."

Law displayed his teeth as he smiled. "Now you're threatening me."

"Not threatening. Warning." She took another long drag from her cigarette. "You seem like a smart man. You and I are probably similar in nature. No such thing as too much information, correct?"

"Correct."

"Unfortunately, it is a flawed view."

"I don't know what you mean."

She leaned over on the counter. "Tell me, Mr. Trafalgar — have you ever gotten a headache from too much information coming at you at once."

The corner of Law's smile twitched. "Why, is it something you experience often?"

She chuckled again. "I like you. You're witty. I'll tell you what I know, but know that you may end up regretting you asked."

"I'll take my chances."

She stood then, reaching behind her and handing him the glass of whiskey she had poured. "Here. On the house. You're going to need it."

He eyed the drink. He had watched her pour it straight from the bottle, but that didn't mean that she hadn't had a chance to poison it. She placed it in front of him when he didn't take it directly from her hand, and she turned to reach for something under the counter. He took a glance at the sleeping schizophrenic. She hadn't reacted, so he assumed it was safe. Still, he waited to drink it and instead tried to slow his racing heartbeat.

Finally. Finally he would get answers about that woman.

She put a notebook in front of him, gesturing for him to look through it while she washed some dishes. He took a moment to watch her, puzzled, before he opened it and looked through the sketches. His eyes narrowed.

She certainly had an imagination.

The drawings were of strange machines, seeming to fly through space. People and strange creatures wearing bubbles as they walked around, much like the celestial dragons. Swords of bright colors. The drawings of the machines reminded him of his own submarine, but the technology was far more advanced in nature. Indeed, some of the drawings were flat out confusing, pictures of things that he couldn't recognize.

"… What is this?"

She leaned over the counter, taking a drag again before she spoke. "Tell me, Mr. Trafalgar, have you ever had a dream that seemed so real you thought it was?"

He frowned. "Everyone does."

"What if I told you it's not always a dream, but a window?"

"I'd say you were downright insane."

Her laugh was low, even, and sultry. "You've asked for the information. I'll provide it. You can think what you want."

She looked out the window, the smile gracing her lips small and soft. "Maybe it's that I've lived here for too long, but I find the best way to think of it is to imagine everything as a bubble. Take our entire world, with all of the rules of nature, it's history and living creatures and put in inside a bubble. Usually, we continue on that way, living in that bubble with no need to think beyond it.

"Sometimes, people look around and they can see outside the 'bubble.' They might catch glimpses into other 'bubbles' in their dreams, or pass it off as a spark of imagination. The greatest stories in the world are sometimes not stories at all, but histories seen through a narrow sort of window. Sometimes, when we see outside of it, we notice that not everything lives in a bubble. And once every now and again, someone slips out of their 'bubble' and into another."

Law realized he was no longer smiling. Instead, he was leaning forward on his arms, inexplicably captivated by her words.

"I was one of those. Unfortunately, my memory is gone. Everything I know about it is written down in a journal, or drawn in that sketchbook. What you see, what you think is my clever imagination, is my now faded memories.

"As I said, there comes a point where the level of information is too much, and it can tear you to pieces." She tapped her head. "No one can live in two places at once, after all. I came through, and within two weeks I had forgotten almost everything I had left behind. I was glad to."

He deliberated. "So… you are expecting me to believe that she came from another… what, universe? Reality?"

She smiled. "Hasn't she already defied every other expectation?"

He glanced back at the sleeping Is. "Your explanation doesn't exactly make sense for her, either."

She laughed. "There's still more to tell. And as I said, I don't exactly have the complete picture. Some of it I can guess, but not all."

She looked back at the sleeping girl. "The one thing that I can remember is being taken. I don't remember who I was with or what I was doing. But there was a light, and I felt a pull as I was ripped through a window. The sensation that I can liken it to is having your body dissolved and reassembled. There's no words to describe the intensity of pain involved in the process."

"… Dissolved?"

She smiled. "As far as I can figure, a body from one 'bubble' can't exist in another."

Law frowned. "What you're saying makes no sense. You can't live without a body. You're talking about dying."

She put out her now finished cigarette before pulling out another one. "You forget, that's a rule within this 'bubble.' Who knows what the rules are outside of it." She glanced back at the girl. "Well… One might."

"Excuse me?"

She took a long drag, blowing it away from Law as she spoke. "I said before that no one can live in two places at once. I'm going to make an educated guess based on what I've observed; she doesn't make sense because she has held off the transition. If it helps, imagine her soul is half here, and half outside."

Law paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts. "This doesn't explain her visions."

The woman smiled. "Does she see the past and future?"

Law nodded slowly. At this point, he might as well give the woman just enough information to get some answers.

She hummed for a minute before replying. "That's because you are looking at it wrong. You see time as a straight line. When she's looking at the world from the outside, time happens in a… less linear fashion."

That drink was starting to look really good now.

"So you're saying that if she accepts reality, she won't get visions any more?"

The woman tilted her head. "Not necessarily. I get gut feelings and dreams. My predecessor got the occasional vision. It depends."

"And that until she accepts reality, she'll continue to have… issues?"

The woman nodded, something flickering across her face.

Pity.

She pitied Is.

"Hm. She just accidentally… fell through?"

The woman looked surprised at Law's question, and laughed loudly. "Tell me, Mr. Supernova — do you feel an electricity when you touch her?" She studied Law carefully as she turned to breathe the smoke out away from Law. "I'll take that slight stiffness as a yes. Relax. I still feel that jolt.

"You're lucky, Mr. Trafalgar. You are so crucial to the future that fate has decided to give you a gift. She sees you even when she rejects everything else because you are the reason she is here. She's here to guide you."

 _"Why are you so sharp?"_

Law ignored the thought that passed through his mind and grinned at the woman in front of him. "I've heard of people saying that someone was their reason for living, but this is a little extreme."

She laughed again. "Take that as you will. She is here for you." She looked back at the sleeping woman. "Although I have to ask, how long as she been here? Has it been the full two weeks that I've seen her? Two weeks is a long time to be stuck in between."

Law glanced back at the sleeping woman that he now was completely unsure about. This bartender had told him that information was her business. Maybe he could get her to give him some more information than she intended to.

"Depends. How much do you know about Donquixote Doflamingo?"

The bartender frowned as Law answered her unspoken question. "As far as I can figure, she was his sex slave before we met."

The cigarette dropped from the woman's lips, and her horrified expression told Law more than she wanted to. Doflamingo was well known for cruelty — her expression was not caused by his using the woman for sex. It also told Law that this woman behind him had an information source more direct with the Joker than he did. Law filed that bit of information away for later use.

She stared back at the woman on the couch, and Law waited patiently, for once finally reading her emotions easily.

"How long?" he asked quietly.

The woman breathed in, reaching for the cigarette that had fallen to the counter. She took in a long drag, calming herself.

"If I'm to believe my information, and yours… years. At least four, probably more."

That surprised Law. More than four years of her living under that man?

She didn't seem to even know that she had.

The bartender was dead serious about this reality shit, Law could tell that much. Whether it was delusion or not, she believed every word she said. Law could also tell that there was a sense of camaraderie that only comes from people who had lived through similar experiences. Whether or not Law believed her… there was the knowledge that nothing else had ever so conveniently explained the girl before him.

Except-

"She doesn't seem to be capable of dying. If she was to accept reality, would that stop?"

The woman glanced back at Law, her expression evening out as she managed to put her mask in place. She shook her head. "That is something I can't answer for you. It's possible. Those that have been brought over tend to be stronger and hardier than an average person, but not incapable of dying. This is out of my depth, I'm afraid. The predecessor I mentioned might have known more…"

She shuddered. "Four years… I had thought that my two weeks was hell."

Law crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back. "Meaning?"

She took another long drag. "I told you, you can't live in two places at once. If what you say is true, it's very good that she can't die. Anyone else surely would have."

Law held his annoyed retort back as an image of her clutching her head in pain flashed in his mind.

 _She clutched her head as she seemed to fight off the only pain she ever reacted to — those headaches._

Fuck. No wonder she enjoyed the pain he gave her, on the verge of not noticing it at all. If Shakky was right…

 _"That thing in your hand isn't pain. The shadows are pain. You don't know pain."_

The theory was ridiculous, but Law would think about the ridiculousness later. For now, he considered the possibility and put everything into that perspective. Once you removed the impossible, whatever remains...

According to this bartender, this involved different universes. There were definitely theories of a multiverse that supported this theory, so she had that going for her. Her own explanation matched Isabelle's explanation of what had happened to her close enough that he had to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. That would mean that she was ripped from her world and placed in this one… four or more years ago. During which time she's lived in the mental, emotional, and physical agony of someone who saw everything at once because she rejected reality. A split soul.

 _"A-are… are you… real?"_

She rejected the reality in front of her. She couldn't see the world around her because her soul was living outside of it.

 _She was shaking violently now. "Y-you're not real. You can't be."_

If this theory was real… She had known his name. He assumed that it was from a vision… but Shakky had said that the greatest stories were sometimes a history. It was possible… it was possible, however unlikely, that Is had read a story about him in the other world.

 _She was looking at him with growing confusion. "Wait. You're… That's impossible. You're Trafalgar Law. You're…"_

Every time that she had recognized him, and recognized him as real, she had shut down — as if he should be fake, but his presence told her that something was wrong with her perception of reality. Which she then immediately rejected, sending her back into the delusions.

Sending her soul back out into limbo.

This theory was insane.

 _It was as if reality itself refused to let anything happen to her body. As if reality rejected the damage._

But she had defied every other more probable theory that existed. As much as he hated it, there was the fact that even if she had been given the Eternal Youth surgery, it didn't answer as many questions as the theory the barkeeper had just presented him.

 _He had begun to test everything about her from a medical standpoint, wondering if he could find answers in ways that made sense to him. But everything came back normal — well, everything except the fact that she was infertile. Which only confused him more. He had been sure that she honestly had a son, but from a medical standpoint that would have been impossible._

Everything in his tests had come back perfectly in the middle. Her uterus had been untouched and barren — because her body had been destroyed and recreated to be that way. Supposedly.

Shakky had also said that Law could get her to accept reality, and that in doing so she would forget about her previous life, that her memories would fade.

 _"You… I remember. I remember everything. You make me remember!"_

Well that didn't make sense. Clearly he made her remember, not forget.

 _"If I do… I don't want it to be real."_

Would she really forget?

No. She would never forget about Eric. He realized that everything she had been through and continued to go through was because she refused to give up on her son. She refused to give up on the idea that her son was somewhere, waiting for her, and that she would return to him. She refused to believe anything was real except for Eric.

 _"I… I don't know. He's important. Eric is Eric. He's my Eric." She looked pointedly back at Law. "You can't have him. He's mine."_

But she _had_ forgotten him. The second time that she had spoke with Law, she had already begun to forget her son as she accepted the reality that she was stuck in. So how did she go from forgetting him to remembering?

 _She nodded. "You… I see you. And the cracks. But less with you."_

This didn't explain the black eyes.

Or did it?

 _"Uh. They mad. You called. Came back."_

The shadows. That week that she had been gone from him.

 _Everything he knew of his reality rejected everything to do with the girl. Humans couldn't live longer than two days without fluids. She should be dehydrated, she should be losing weight, hell she should be dead. Her eyeballs should be dried out. Something._

That week he had questioned his concepts of reality. If he took the bartender's explanation and drew his own conclusions, then the shadows that Is saw, that had reached for her, were the same beings that Shakky had mentioned living between the worlds. It was probably the same living being that people people had described as gods or fate. The shadows had been angry at her both times she had gone black. The first time, he had made her relive losing her son to the point that she had passed out, and the second time she had rejected the fact that she couldn't help someone. If her soul was half in and half out of this… 'bubble' that they lived in, then maybe both times her rejection had forced her soul out of her body an into that in between space — thus explaining why there there was no electricity to their touch.

Law reached for the drink in front of him, taking a generous gulp.

This was too much. He had thought that he was a complicated man with complicated goals. This made him simple in comparison. And everything was only a partial theory. It still wasn't the whole picture. This didn't explain her immortality. It certainly didn't tell Law how he was supposed to magically fix it.

He suddenly understood what Shakky had said about a payment. His sense of reality was now distorted. He pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing his eyes as he questioned his own sanity for a moment.

 _"How do you know what you see is real?"_

He didn't. He had never known. He had never had to question it before.

Was anything real?

Shakky had left him to his thoughts and started cooking in the corner. She had remembered her own journey, and how difficult and painful it was at the time — to completely forget everything about yourself, every precious childhood memory, every bond you'd ever had was a burden that she had only survived because she had wholeheartedly accepted it in the face of the bond she had found. Her time as a guide was cherished, and she looked on it fondly.

Something was preventing the young woman from accepting reality. Shakky hadn't known that kind of fortitude existed before. She forcibly prevented the transition. To survive years in that hell between realities…

Briefly she smiled. When this young man eventually discovered exactly how much control he had over her, when he forced her to accept reality, she was excited to see how powerful the young woman across the room became.

Guides were always made to be as powerful as the individuals they guided. They were meant to be companions. Which meant that the handsome man sitting at her bar was even more powerful than he appeared.

She plated the fried rice, placing it in front of the man who was now flipping through her sketchbook, drink almost finished. She could tell that despite flipping through the pages, he wasn't really seeing anything. She could practically see the gears turning in his mind. This man was certainly deserving of the title of Supernova. He had taken her information seriously, even as he thought it was ridiculous. He was level-headed and calculating for a pirate.

He would go far. She could tell.

"Tell me, Shakky-ya… You mentioned a journal?"

She smiled. "Would you like to see that as well?"

The man nodded.

"Well, you will have to stay here to read it. I'm rather fond of it."

He raised an eyebrow, glancing back at the still asleep woman. Shakky had noticed he did that often, already trusting her guidance more than he let on. Maybe more than he realized. She smiled.

"If you'd like, I have a guest bedroom upstairs if you end up staying the night. I'll care for her… you said her name is Is, right?"

The young man nodded, stiffly, eyes full of suspicion. She continued, addressing his concerns, "I'm not helping you — I'm helping her."

That seemed to appease him. He relaxed visibly and grinned. "… In that case, if you had some coffee I'd appreciate it."

She almost chuckled but held back. It was amusing that the young man was so distrusting of her intentions. She reached under the counter for the journal, having placed it there earlier this week as she awaited their arrival. She poured him a mug of black coffee, grabbing another plate of food and walking over to wake the sleeping woman, leaving Trafalgar Law to his thoughts.


	14. Chapter 14

Another day, another update...

Drop a review, please. I'm curious to know what you think of the character portrayals. :P

Titles of songs used: "If all of the rain drops" and "Like I'm Gonna Lose You"

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It was well into the evening now. Is had been woken up by Shakky and given some food. Shakky had done exactly as she offered, helping the girl eat and keeping her occupied. Law could see why Doflamingo had strapped her down — she seemed to have difficulty sitting still, taking to aimlessly wandering around any room that she occupied. Shakky followed her, steering her in the right direction when needed, and even giving her things to look at to occupy her time. A clock occupied the woman the longest, as Is had slowly taken the entire thing apart (although part of the reason it had taken so long was simply that she couldn't focus on it for more than a few minutes at a time, and was continuously discovering it anew).

Law had started his time reading by glancing up at her every few minutes, still not quite trusting Shakky. But the girl was perfectly relaxed in her presence, so his natural suspicions eased up. He had called the crew to let them know that they may not be returning tonight. Anyone he hadn't ordered to stay behind was allowed to roam so long as they avoided trouble. Shachi and Penguin had whined particularly loud behind the receiver before Law hung up.

At this point, Law was engrossed in his reading and blatantly ignoring the pair on the other side of the room. Shakky had turned her sign to signal "closed," so they were left alone. There were no interruptions besides the schizophrenic outbursts that would plague Is.

Or visions through space and time, if he was to believe the woman at the bar.

A part of Law's mind was laughing insanely at the fact that he was actually starting to believe it. Her journal wasn't providing much more in terms of information. The thoughts written down started off jumbled and confusing, and ended clearly written but with vague details - which matched her description of the two week period in which she had lost her memories. Still, it could all be a very elaborate delusion.

But then again… It just fit too perfectly.

If Law was to believe the woman, he was supposed to play some big role in the future, and Is was supposed to guide him and help him achieve that role. He already had big plans — take down Doflamingo, find One Piece, become Pirate King. Was that his role?

No. Her first two… prophecies were focused on fire and water. Fire was most likely one of the three that he had pulled from his list before. So the important roles were something to do with the will surviving and-

Wait. The will.

Firefist Ace. Portgas D. Ace.

Damnit, Law felt stupid.

The will. His will. Meaning the Will of the D.

Ace would die, but the will would survive… Meaning that it was possible someone related to the man would survive him. Law briefly wondered if it was him, but it seemed doubtful. She had gone between saying 'the will' and 'his will,' likely referring to someone related to Ace, or at least a close friend. Perhaps the man had a child somewhere. He was a pirate, after all. Lots of pirates had unclaimed children spread across the seas…

Still, as brilliant of a breakthrough as this was, it didn't solve his current dilemma. How was Law related to…

Unless…

Was it related to the King?

Law hummed lowly, completely lost in his thoughts now. The King would be at the house and all the stars were gathering. There were a few possibilities — either there was a big house on the archipelago, and it had nothing to do with the Supernovas, or the Supernovas had something to do with the arrival of the King.

Were some of them here already?

The big house. Well, there was one big house in this place that Law could think of — Human Auction house. So he would meet the King at the Human Auction house. He would have to find out when they were holding sales. He knew it was at least once a month.

"C-Captain…"

The strained voice pulled him out of his thoughts, as he glanced to the woman who had appeared next to him. Shakky stood behind her, trying to gently lead her away with a hold on her shoulders. Is was shaking, clutching her head with her face contorted in pain. Law grinned, resting a cheek on his palm as he lazily checked her over. He quite liked this tortured look on her. He glanced back at Shakky behind her, and quickly formed a plan.

"C-Captain… it hurts, it hurts…"

Amusing. "Oh? Where?"

She whimpered quietly. He chuckled before turning back to his reading. "I can't help you right now."

She began to cry, hitting herself in the head she continued to whimper with increased volume. She whined out, "Please, please, it hurts, it burns…"

Ah, she was begging. He liked the begging. He turned his page, pretending not to hear her as he hummed quietly.

Shakky had watched the interaction carefully. "Do you have a way of helping her?"

Law shrugged. "More or less."

Shakky was frowning now. Is was increasing in volume now, teetering on the edge of a tortured scream and a moan that did funny things to Law in places he did not want to think about.

Not right that second, anyway.

"Do you need something from me in order to do it?" Shakky asked, eying the girl with pity.

Law looked thoughtful as he hid his glee. "Unfortunately it can get a little messy. I'm not sure that here is a good spot… and besides, I wouldn't want to upset you."

Shakky looked at him sharply, eyeing him suspiciously. Law kept his gaze even, level and added a touch of apprehension for good measure.

She sighed, glancing at the tortured woman who was now writhing, barely standing as she continued to beg for Law's attention. "I don't mind a mess. I have a feeling she'll start getting violent if something isn't done. I'll get you a towel." With that, the woman turned around and went to go grab a towel. Law fixed his face to one of unsure gratitude before she came back, handing him a large, white, fluffy bath towel.

He took it slowly. "… If you're sure…"

She glanced back at the woman besides him. "Yes, I am. I've been in her position before — if there's a way to relieve the pain, I'm all for it."

He hesitated again. "… I'm sure you'll keep her identity and my methods secret. I have a feeling that there is a certain… shichibukai who will be looking for her."

She nodded, on guard again as she clearly tried to figure out his angle.

"Good. Is-ya, sit."

She sat on the stool he indicated, tears soaking her face as she bit her lip to hold back a scream. She was shaking more violently now. Law stood behind her, gently wrapped the towel around her shoulders, speaking softly to the barkeeper. "I'm glad. Of course, I've been worried about him finding her." He removed the sobbing woman's hat, placing it on the bar before him before moving the journal and sketchpad a safe distance away.

Hm, what should he start with today… cheek? Nose? Eye again? He gently massaged her scalp for a moment with one hand, pulling out the scalpel and keeping it hidden from Shakky's prying eyes. He took a moment to breath in as he internally analyzed the electricity from the touch. It was back down to more normal, manageable levels. He could work with this.

"… You want information on Doflamingo, don't you?"

Law flashed her an amused grin. "Only if you're offering. It would certainly help me keep my 'guide' safe."

She chuckled. "You are a clever one, aren't you? Milking me for information."

"I would call it… an exchange. I end her pain, you keep quiet, she stays safe. Win, win."

She glanced down at the woman in front of her, a smile gracing her lips as she took a long drag from her cigarette. "… Fine. Although I'm curious what you are planning."

Law's smile turned sadistic as his eyes caught Shakky's, and his chuckle dropped an octave. "You'll see. Remember, you asked."

In a flash, he roughly pulled back her head and stabbed her through her ear canal. She stiffened and then relaxed, turning to jelly as she leaned into Law's chest. Law pulled back out and kept stabbing, equally relaxed as he enjoyed his favorite canvas.

"… Well. I guess that explains it. You did say she couldn't die." She walked under the bar to watch from the other side.

Law was disappointed. He was hoping for a bigger reaction.

"… I guess, if I could regenerate, I would have done the same thing in her position."

Law chuckled. "If you are asking, I'm sure we could come to an arrangement."

"Cute, but no. My husband would be disappointed if he came back to find me all cut up."

"He could always join."

Shakky laughed quietly. "I think I'll stick with all my body parts in the right places." She watched, amused, as Law continued to wiggle the scalpel around in her ear.

"So, Shakky-ya. Including myself, how many other Supernovas are on the archipelago right now?" He pulled out the scalpel now, using the edge of the towel to wipe up the mess. He was being careful this time. He didn't have a spare uniform, and didn't want to draw unnecessary attention by having her walk through the groves covered in blood.

Not now. Maybe another day.

No, definitely one of these days. It was officially on his bucket list.

"Hm. Seven are here right now, including yourself."

Law paused, looking into his patient's eyes as they opened slowly. "Better? Or more?"

She whined quietly. Law chuckled. "More then." He decided that her eyes dripping in goo would be the most fun, so he moved to stab her through her eye socket, mutilating that next. She shivered and then sighed happily as Law reached as far as he realistically could with the scalpel.

"Do you know when the next human auction is?"

She chuckled. "Looking for someone to scream while you cut them, instead?"

He grinned. He was really beginning to like this woman, despite her annoying smoking habit. Law had never been particularly fond of smokers. Except for one.

"You know me so well already," he teased. "Fortunately, I rarely have to pay for test subjects."

She hummed. "The next one is this Friday, 4pm."

Law nodded, continuing to cut into Is while periodically wiping her face off. Today was Tuesday, so he had a few days to kill. He would have to find some entertainment in town. Since the other supernovas were here, and so many of them, it was the perfect opportunity to scope out the competition. He was particularly interested in meeting the famous Monkey D. Luffy. Anyone who shared the secret name was worth a look.

Although he also thought that anyone who so readily exposed the name was a fool.

But most people were. Compared to himself of course.

"How can I get in contact with you?"

She pulled out a slip of paper and wrote a number down. "This reaches my personal transponder snail. I assume you'll contact me later about Doflamingo." Law glanced up at her from under the brim of his hat. She left it on the counter in front of them.

The bath towel that she had so generously provided was ruined now. She looked at it, frowning as she smoked.

Law's eyes narrowed and she caught his gaze, voicing her thoughts.

"I was just thinking… She doesn't seem to eat much. If she's regenerating like that…"

"She should be burning more calories, right?" The subject of the conversation was fully relaxed now. Law pulled his scalpel out, ending their impromptu session.

She nodded. Law used the remaining clean parts of the towel to wipe his hands. "I've thought about that. If you aren't as delusional as you seem, it might have something to do with her rejecting reality."

Her gaze pensive, she looked at the floor, one hand wrapped around her waist to support her elbow. "I suppose you're right." He held out the bloody towel to Shakky, who took it and disappeared into a side room to dispose of it.

Law leaned against the counter, watching his supposed guide. He wanted confirmation about this new theory. He needed more evidence to back it up.

"Is, how old are you?"

She blinked, looking at him. "I… I turn 33 soon."

Well that was just impossible. There was a section of the brain that didn't fully develop until someone reached the age of 25 — her brain hadn't developed that far. So that definitely supported the theory of a new body.

"How old were you when you had Eric?"

She frowned. "28. I was… yeah. I was 28." Well that matched what she had said before about Eric being 4 when she had been pulled away. She was being surprisingly coherent. Law had noticed that the longer he touched her, the longer the periods of clarity.

Is turned around and sung quietly, bobbing her head to the tune. "… Fiona says she's out shoppin'… but she's under him and he's not stopping…"

Law raised an eyebrow. So much for clarity.

"This isn't your usual kind of song, Is-ya."

"… cause Scotty doesn't know, Scotty doesn't know, Scotty… doesn't…" She frowned. "Scott. Scott doesn't…" She looked perplexed.

"Scott?"

"Yeah." She pointed a finger, reaching for the tattoos on his arm. "Huh. He has tattoos on his arm, too. I like to trace them…"

Law froze, and then cursed under his breath.

She looked down at the counter, a frown on her face as she remembered. "He's at a meeting today. I promised him I'd pick Eric up early to get ice cream before…" She looked around suddenly. "What time is it? I don't want to be late. He'll cry if I'm late…"

Law was at a loss. What was he supposed to tell her?

Fuck. It was better when he was cutting into her.

Before Law could say anything, her gaze unfocused, and she faded into delirium again, giggling absently.

Relieved, Law turned around and walked towards Shakky's bathroom to scrub his hands, and ignored the feeling that bubbled up in his chest.

How had he never suspected it? Of course the boy had to have a father.

He also had a mother.

Not now. And it was all because of Law.

No wonder she was always trying to touch his tattoos.

Damnit, hadn't the girl messed him up enough for one goddamn day?

He washed his hands in the sink, scrubbing the remainder of the blood away. He would take Shakky up on the room for the night. He was exhausted. He needed a drink and a bed to collapse into. For once, Law didn't want to think anymore. He was tired of thinking. For once, he just wanted to forget everything.

He wished he'd never boarded that fucking boat.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

As he wandered down the street in front of him, Law carefully and lazily watched his surroundings. He was itching for a fight.

The morning after one of the strangest days in his life, he had dropped Is off at the sub and returned to the town to begin scoping out his competition. He had started in the lawless zones, wandering in and out of bars as he worked out the Joker's connections in town. He had a feeling that the information Shakky would provide later would be the most critical, but he wanted to try finding information on this island without her for now. He still wasn't entirely convinced she wasn't as insane as the woman who slept on his couch.

As night drew closer, Law knew he wouldn't be sleeping well tonight. His body was overwhelmed with the need to cut something, to make someone scream. As satisfying it had been ripping out that pirate's nervous system yesterday, Law wanted more. So far, he had taken a meal at the same restaurant as Gang Bege. He had learned the man was prim and proper with his meals, but nothing else of interest. The man was boring at best.

He had yet to run into the other Supernovas. He had, however, instructed his crew to stick to larger groups than usual when leaving the sub, and half of the crew had to remain behind at all times. He had not expected so many competitors to appear in one place.

Now he walked a street in between some disreputable looking establishments, the nodachi on his shoulder practically singing for blood.

A half second was all the warning Law got to move out of the way, avoiding the body that flew in front of him. The man groaned, growled, and stood up without even bothering to address the fact that he had almost hit Law.

Law smirked. Perfect. An excuse. And the man had practically come begging for it. The only way to make this any better would be if the man wore a bow and wrapping paper.

The man was bleeding from a cut on his forehead, staring angrily at the bar in a drunken haze.

"Oi," Law drawled lazily.

The man looked back at Law, doing a double take, "S'that? You wanna go, mate? I-"

Law drew his sword, never losing his smile. The man paled somewhat, moving into a fighting stance that was wobbly in his inebriated state. He was clearly terrified and trying hide it.

"I ain't 'fraid o' you, you ass-"

The man never got to finish. Law had decided to start with the cruelest part that he could imagine and castrated him.

He chuckled as the blood started to pour down the man's legs. "You should have thought more before picking a fight with me." He lazily cut off the man's arm with a flick of the wrist, hearing Kikoku practically sing in his hands. The man finally started to scream, the alcohol in his system and the shock having made his reactions to Law's brutality slow.

Ah. This was fun.

"What the fuck is going on here?"

Law did a quarter turn, facing the direction the man had originally come from. Standing in the open doorway was none other than Eustass Kid himself. His outrageous hair was only topped by his ridiculous lipstick and pant combination. He looked more like a clown than Cora-san ever had.

And yet still managed to look dangerous.

Law was mildly impressed.

"You must be Eustass-ya. This man nearly hit me and didn't even apologize. I was just rectifying his anatomy to reflect his manners."

The man sneered, a predatory smirk as feral as Law's was lazy emerging as the Captain saw exactly where Law had cut. He slowly eyed the dying man, recognizing exactly where Law had cut him.

"You're even more fucked up in the head that I am, you crazy, fucking bastard."

Law looked cooly at the man in front of him, assessing him slowly from head to toe. Maybe he would pick a fight with the man today. He had been itching for something a little more intense than the shriveled mess at his feet — who Law realized absentmindedly had died while he thought about killing Kid.

Oh, why not?

Law's smile was level, calculated for the perfect amount of cockiness. "Judging by your fashion choices, I sincerely doubt it, Eustass-ya."

The man somehow managed to glare and smile at the same time. It seemed Law wasn't the only one itching for a fight.

A tense moment passed, and another Supernova appeared from behind Kid. It was Killer, first mate of the Kid Pirates. Law watched carefully as the man whispered something into Kid's ear. If he had not been wearing a mask, Law might have attempted to read his lips.

The tension left the air, and Law realized that they would not be fighting today. He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a rag and cleaning his beloved sword. He would have to find someone else to kill.

"Luckily for you, I've got some fucking business shit to do. I'll kill you another day."

Law smirked, sheathing his sword and walking away. He called over his shoulder, "If you don't have the skill to do so now, I sincerely doubt you'll be able to later."

Law swore he heard the man snarl before he laughed, as madly sadistic outside as Law was on the inside.

Despite not getting the fight he wanted, Law abruptly decided that he liked the man. When he eventually killed him, he would definitely take his sweet time in doing so. Law always did like a challenge.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law watched the brewing fight from his vantage point sitting on a crate with an amused grin on his face. Neither Killer of the Kid pirates nor Mad Monk Urouge appeared to be big challenges. The only thing strong about them was their egos.

Now Eustass Kid, on the other hand… Well, that man might actually be a challenge.

It was Friday afternoon. Law had seen or directly observed all but two of the supernovas — those two being of the Straw Hat crew. It seems the Straw Hats hadn't arrived yet. Law had no doubt they would be here soon, and he wondered if he'd see them before the end of the day. Currently, Bepo and a few others were standing idly behind him, whispering quietly over the fight that they had just witnessed.

In the last few days, Law had purposely avoided the crew's resident schizophrenic. He wanted a clear, level head. The emotional rollercoaster that had him obsessing over her every detail wasn't healthy. His increasing attachment and continued sympathy was getting out of hand. He needed to distance himself. Instead, Law spent his time off the sub and around the island, gathering intel on everything from his competition to information on the New World. The limited contact that he allowed himself was to wake up in the morning and tell her to guard the ship before he left. Even if she didn't understand it, she seemed comforted by the command.

He ignored the growing need in his fingers to touch her, and his addict-like withdrawal ticks when he began to crave sticking his blade into her. He let her scream for him instead, leaving Samei to deal with the mess. He also managed to stave off the worst of the ticks with some rather enthusiastic partners from a local bar.

Urouge was showing off his strength by waving around a huge, metal rod. Law grinned, wondering if he was compensating for his lack of fighting ability or penis size.

As he watched the man swing clumsily it again, he wondered if it was both.

Just when the two fighters were starting to warm up, someone stepped in and cut them off — X Drake, former military man turned pirate. Now here was a man that Law wanted to fight.

The ex-military man had stopped the fight of his fellow pirates probably to avoid the possibility of a naval warship being called. It was the action of an ex-military man, not a pirate, and completely unnecessary to boot. The military presence on the island was ironically weak, despite it being a large base with close ties to Marie Jois. He wondered briefly if that was a usual situation, or if it had to do with the upcoming execution of Firefist Ace.

Although there had been no announcement, Law had caught a whisper in the underground.

He wondered if they would kill him publicly or not. If they killed the man publicly, Whitebeard would not stand for it. The little bit of intel Law had of the emperor was that he was protective of his own. Fiercely so. At the same time, he was fairly sure that it would be a public execution — and that the consequences would be severe. It would account for Is predicting his death if he had left the island when he originally wanted to.

Not for the first time, he was glad she had gotten them to stay.

As X Drake passed by Law and his crew, Law spoke up. "And it was at such a good moment, too."

X Drake paused to look at Law as he sat on the crate. Bepo growled lightly from behind Law. Law looked directly into X Drake's eyes, attempting to goad him. As a previous military man, Law was sure that the man had a misplaced sense of honor. He knew exactly what button to push.

"Drake-ya, how many people have you killed?"

Despite Law's best intentions of riling the stiff man up, the man simply scoffed and kept walking. Law immediately lost interest. He was clearly less of a pirate and more of a coward, despite how strong he might be. He would not fight Law unless cornered.

Although it was good intel, it was boring. Law sighed, standing up from the crate and continuing to wander around the town with his crew, listening to whispers and avoiding areas with the Celestial Dragons.

Those same Celestial Dragons were the reason that Law kept Bepo with him at all times. Two days ago, Is had held dropped a warning that slavers would attack Bepo, and later that day they did. They fell right into Law's trap.

Law then proceeded to preform extensive medical procedures on the men.

No one touched Bepo.

Law found himself incredibly bored when X Drake refused to fight him, but luckily time was drawing near for the Auction. He had just enough time to stop off at the sub before going. He wanted to question Is one more time before he left — and Bepo's white uniform was sticky. Bepo had a habit of eating sweet things and getting dirty. So, back to the sub they went.

As they walked up the gangplank, Law instructed Bepo to change, and for the men to wait for him for a moment. Is was sitting on the deck as Samei scrubbed, singing a children's song about raindrops and gumdrops.

"…if all of the raindrops were lemon drops and gumdrops…"

Something tugged at Law's chest, but he pushed the image away. This was why he avoided the woman. Law was cold, calculating and cruel. The only emotion he felt were towards his crew, and even then it was not this… empathy that he was starting to feel towards the woman now sitting on the deck of his ship.

"… oh what a rain that would be…"

He'd been through hell. He'd lost his entire family, his entire village in ash, fire and blood. At least hers was still alive. She should be happy. Damnit, she should be thankful.

"… I'd stand outside with my mouth open wide…"

Law stiffly walked over, crouching in front of the woman to interrupt her song, pulling roughly on her ear. Samei glanced over, and then kept scrubbing. Samei was adept at looking like he couldn't hear anything when he worked. As Law had stated, not as innocent as he seemed.

"Is-ya. Tell me about the King."

Her unfocused eyes stared idly for a moment, her lips parted as she thought. "Ah… today… yeah, today… big boom coming."

Shit. A big boom? Something related to the King would be an explosion. Was someone going to attack the Auction house? It seemed unlikely that someone would directly attack the Joker's stronghold.

"What about the auction house?"

"Ah… big boom…"

Well, at least things wouldn't be boring there. He tugged on her ear again. "Will we be safe?"

"… Uh… safe? Maybe, maybe not… Bad shiny one. Bad, bad, bad."

Bad shiny one. She had called Shakky a 'shiny one.' So was it another… what, cross-dimensional being? Law sighed, releasing her as she returned to her more usual mutterings. Something would surely be happening at the Auction House. This changed his plans slightly in whom he intended to take with him.

Bepo came back out onto the deck wearing his more common orange jumpsuit instead of the white one. Law addressed him. "Bepo, call the crew, tell them all to come back to the ship and prepare to leave in a hurry… just in case. I want you, Shachi and Penguin to come with me."

As mischievous as the two mechanics were, they could both use observation haki. They would be able to take care of themselves if things went south. Bepo nodded, pulling out a den den mushi and walking back inside to find Shachi and Penguin.

"Captain?" Is questioned for a moment.

"Yes, Is-ya?"

"… Are you leaving?" She tilted her head. Law could feel his fingers twitch. That tug on her ear wasn't enough. He wanted more.

The door opened again, Shachi and Penguin both cheering and jumping around in their excitement. This would be the first time they were allowed off of the ship all week. Law had not taken kindly to them asking Is about him, but they seemed to learn their lesson. Bepo followed them more solemnly, worry on the mink's face.

"Yes. You stay. Protect the ship."

She nodded solemnly. "Easter… with the eggs… Protect the ship… Jazz and lights… beignets…"

Law fought with himself for a moment, before standing slowly, and handing his nodachi to Bepo to hold. She had been steadily losing clarity as he avoided her. He looked at Bepo, jerking a thumb towards the ground. "We're going."

His heart was hammering in his chest. He shoved his hands into his pockets, jumping down to the ground. An explosion, the King, and a bad shiny one. His twitching hands clenched, a glint in his eyes the only betrayal of his excitement for the coming events.

This was going to be fun.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

They arrived in time to get a seat towards towards the back of the theater. Law had his arms around the backs of the seats besides him, legs crossed as he watched the proceedings and did his best to keep himself in check.

As the room filled, he occupied his time thinking about what she had said about the King, mulling over every detail, every word.

 _"The King will stop it. The King will end the beast, but only with help. He needs lots of help."_

 _"He's my favorite. I like him more than you. You won't find him here, no, no."_

 _"Ah… water… Oh, something… um, water ruins dragon, but only if the King succeeds. Mega lame."_

All in all, it wasn't much to go on. This King would either kill or defeat Kaido of the four emperors, and stop his supposed plans to end the world. Law supposed that was probably why the fates had 'gifted' him the girl if he was supposed to somehow play an instrumental role in preventing the end of the world.

He stopped himself from snorting. There was a time that he would have given anything to end the world. Why would he rush to save it?

He supposed that him living in it might be a reason. Then he moved on.

She had said that the King was her favorite. Law's thoughts circled back to the theory he had been entertaining over the last few days. If she had read a story about him in her world, then this King was her favorite… what, character? Law fought the sneer that threatened to take over his face, keeping his cocky grin in place to mask his thoughts.

Then there was Water and Dragon. If he followed the pattern of fire, then it would be someone whose name or powers reflected-

Shit.

His middle fucking name.

Law called himself all kinds of stupid as the Kid pirates walked through the entrance, leaning against the wall. Law glanced behind him, making eye contact with the Captain. He decided to take out his own frustration on the man, and wondered if he could get an entertaining rise out of him.

He flipped him off, cocky smirk in place, taunting him.

Kid grinned, baring his teeth in a smile that Law quite enjoyed. But disappointingly, there was no attack. Kid was infuriatingly level-headed for a infamous hot-head. Law turned back to the auction. It was finally beginning.

He watched, ignoring the proceedings as he kept his senses open and aware, waiting for the explosion that he was sure would happen soon. It had to. This was infinitely boring, and Law wouldn't mind if someone blew up the Joker's house. He might have to shake the man's hand.

Of course, he supposed it would be best if there was no attack. The Celestial Dragons-

Oh. Dragon. Okay. So… water ruins dragon, but only if the… King succeeds? Law's eyes narrowed slightly. Was he… going to take down the celestial dragons?

Law pushed that thought aside. No, no he wouldn't. It didn't fit. She had specifically said one Dragon. Again, there was a long list of 'Dragon's to choose from, the most notable being Dragon of the revolutionary army. But he highly doubted the most wanted man in the world would be within striking distance of Law in his lifetime. The man was a fucking ghost.

A group entered, late to the party. Law looked behind him and recognized one of the members of the Straw Hats, and what was clearly a fishman. Interesting. Law wondered if the sweatshirt actually fooled anyone. The man's lips were a dead giveaway.

Law chuckled. They were talking amongst themselves, and Law distinctly heard the words "save" and "treasure." A thought flashed in his mind as he wondered if the Straw Hats were really as crazy as they were portrayed in the newspapers. This could be quite fun if they were. It would certainly explain the expected 'boom.'

He went back to his musings, ticking off a list of possible candidates for Dragon as well as Water. Even if he had a suspicion that Water referred to himself, it was never good to completely ignore alternative possibilities.

After a while, a hush fell over the crowd as another world noble walked in. The man was kicking his already defeated and bleeding slave in a way that Law detested.

Law was evil. He knew it. But there were a few morals that he lived by. The first of which being that he usually kept his killing to pirates, marines, and those who picked a fight with him. Civilians were off limits. Children were off limits. Women were fair game if they chose the pirate or marine life, but he'd never been fond of rape. He occasionally went out of his way to provide medical care to so-called innocents, as a way of repaying the debt he owed Cora-san. Call it a code of ethics, if you will. Take a life, save a life. Well, the equation was hardly balanced quite that nicely. More like take a hundred, save one.

The unfortunate reality was that slaves were more often than not civilians that had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Even Law frowned as the world noble rudely made his way down the stairs.

Law's thoughts circled back around to Water and Dragon.

 _"Ah… water… Oh, something… um, water ruins dragon, but only if the King succeeds. Mega lame."_

Ruins. If Law was indeed the "water" Is had referred to, then he was going to specifically ruin a dragon, not defeat or kill it. He pondered this, the thoughts swirling as he watched the next entry walk out on stage.

Well. That was certainly interesting. A slave had been brought out, with the emcee chatting excitedly until the man collapsed, blood trickling down his chin as he bit off his own tongue. Momentarily, Law was impressed. He had chosen his pride over his life. Well. Pride over the half-life of a slave.

The curtains closed as the auction house workers scrambled to direct the crowd's attention away from what just happened. The emcee came out again, blaming the man's collapse on nerves and a nosebleed. The man was a pro at his job, even if he was ridiculously flamboyant and annoying.

"But everyone! The next item I have for you is a super-incredible piece of merchandise sure to instantly blow all this trouble away!"

This peaked Law's interest. Was it the giant that they had been advertising?

No. The cart they wheeled out was far too small.

"A highly sought after item, to be sure! Take a look at this silhouette!"

Law's eyebrows rose slightly. A mermaid. They had a mermaid. They raised the curtains.

She looked terrified for a moment, before seeming to recognize someone. Law followed her gaze behind him to the Straw Hat pirates. The orange haired woman's jaw was set and determined.

Well if they were planning on rescuing the mermaid, things could surely get interesting from here. It definitely explained the bold presence of the fishman with them.

"500 million!"

There was silence in the large room for a moment, and Law heard the dropping of a paddle somewhere behind him. 500 milllion beris. That was… unheard of. Fucking rich world nobles.

The mermaid was banging against the glass, plainly terrified. Whispers broke out as the other patrons realized that they wouldn't be able to compete with that price. The emcee was chatting, attempting to break the room's tense atmosphere as he declared the mermaid sold. Law sensed Kid start to leave the room.

And then the "boom."

Law had enough warning to turn away and avoid the debris as they flew through the air. He took some smug satisfaction in the number of nobles who went flying, as the infamous Straw Hat Captain himself stood from the wreckage of the flying fish that hat crashed into the seats. Law smirked. This man was as crazy as the papers made him out to be.

Now this was entertainment.

The man started shouting "Camie" and running down the stairs as the fishman attempted to stop him. The fishman was not successful in even slowing the young man down even as he attempted to explain the situation to him.

The room erupted in screams as the fishman's extra arms appeared from under his jacket. Upon realizing his mistake, he released the young Captain. The Straw Hat Captain didn't even even seem to notice as the crowd started throwing things at the exposed fishman.

A single gunshot rang through the air, and the fishman fell down the stairs. Straw Hat Luffy finally stopped, seeming to realize for the first time that the world nobles were here. No, scratch that, from the look on that man's face…

The noble was bouncing and singing about getting a free octopus fisherman along with his mermaid, as Straw Hat Luffy started marching up the steps towards him, the look on his face of unabashed anger.

No. No, he wouldn't… Would he? No one could possibly be that…

The octopus man had reached out, holding on to young man's arms and speaking quietly to him. The tension in the air was unnoticed by the celestial dragon, who pointed his gun at the merman again.

Straw Hat Luffy resumed his march up the steps. Law closed one eye as he watched lazily, assuming that he must have read the man wrong. There was no way.

"Straw hat-ya?" he asked himself quietly. He had known things would get crazy. But this?

The Straw Hat Captain dodged two bullets, pulling back an arm and roaring in anger as he punched the celestial dragon in the face with a sickening crunch.

This man had not an ounce of self preservation.

He put his hat back on his head, cracking his knuckles.

Law smiled.

Fuck, he was glad he came.

The pirate Captain apologized to his crew, who looked both resigned and glad that their Captain had just committed an act of violence against a world noble.

All hell broke loose as the crowd realized what had just happened, and another celestial dragon began shooting (and completely missing) the unfazed Supernova. Law realized briefly that Kid had returned to the room, watching the Straw hat crew begin to attack the guards around the room with as much interest as he did.

The blonde man with curly eyebrows, who Law assumed was Black Leg Sanji, started the fight by kicking the world noble who had shot at his Captain.

It seemed it wasn't just the Captain — the crew also had no sense of self-preservation.

Law watched, as this was a better opportunity to learn more about the crazy crew than any he had previously had.

The green haired swordsman was definitely a tough nut and-

Did that man's arm just fucking shoot itself at the guards?

Law had an immediate desire to dissect the blue haired man.

The orange haired woman somehow created lightening in the air to attack her enemies. He had assumed that she was weak. She wasn't particularly strong looking, but it was certainly an interesting attack. He wondered if it was similar to the mink man's electricity.

They continued fighting, the different guards around the room, and at some point the mermaid's cage had been cut to leak out water. He could hear her crying as she cried out to the now injured octopus fishman as a — furred man? — was treating his wounds.

Law smirked as his gaze returned to the Captain of this incredibly strange crew.

"Straw Hat Luffy-ya… A bounty of 300 million, huh?"

The man himself turned, eyeing Law for a brief moment.

There was a crash as more flying fish fell through the ceiling. A woman with wings and a… was that a skeleton?

This was his new favorite crew. He wanted to dissect them all.

This was better than all of his wildest dreams, and the King had yet to appear.

Another man fell through the ceiling, landing on the old man celestial dragon who had shot at the Straw Hat Captain earlier, knocked him out, and then begun apologizing profusely. The Captain called to the newly arrived members, and the orange haired woman yelled that they had to hurry before the navy arrive.

They had entertained him immensely. Law wanted to burst their bubble. He looked down, hiding his eyes beneath his hat.

"The navy's already here, Straw Hat-ya."

Luffy glanced back at Law again. "Who're you? And what's the bear?"

Law replied as Bepo blushed. "They've had the place surrounded before the auction even began. Navy Headquarters has a post on this archipelago, you see. I dunno who they wanted to catch, but I doubt they expected someone would beat up the Celestial Dragons."

Law chuckled darkly before continuing. "That was an interesting show you gave," he looked up into Straw Hat Luffy's face, "Straw Hat-ya and crew."

The woman who had crashed through the ceiling must be Nico Robin. She wore a cowboy hat, and eyed Law suspiciously. "You must be Trafalgar Law. Luffy, he's a pirate."

"Huh?! The bear, too?"

Luffy looked back to Bepo, confusion on his clearly dimwitted face. The man who had fallen in on a Celestial Dragon was looking particularly scared.

Nico Robin continued. "And the man over there… Eustass Captain Kid."

"Eh?! The man with a bounty higher than Luffy?" cried the Skeleton.

Law had so many questions. Would the skeleton bleed? Could he feel without a nervous system? Could he eat? How loudly would he scream if Law cut him up? How did he get the wig to stay on his head? But most of all… how the fuck was a bare bones skeleton moving without ligaments?

There was motion on the stage as the only uninjured Celestial Dragon pointed a gun at the mermaid, and started making a big speech. Law ignored her. He cared far more about the Straw Hats than the mermaid.

And then there was a pause as Law felt a presence pass over the room, enforcing it's will on those still in it.

Conqueror's Haki.

This must be it. The King. Law clenched his fist as the last Celestial Dragon fell to the ground and the back wall was ripped open. An old man walked out, silver hair long and straggly.

"See, Mr. Giant. The place is in a real uproar. I'd say that the auction's over. I've stolen some money, so I guess I'll head back to the gambling houses…"

"You're one disagreeable old man," said the giant who had ripped the wall apart. "You were only here to get some money?"

"I was hoping for a chance to steal from whoever bought me, too…"

Law almost shivered in excitement, attempting to keep his face as bland as possible. The strength of his haki was close to overwhelming.

"But I guess it wasn't meant to be," the old man continued, pulling out a flask. "Oh, right, I'm all out. First thing is more alcohol. Think about it. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want an old man like me for a slave." He threw his head back and laughed.

He looked back at the room, seeming to notice everyone else for the first time. "Oh? Looks like we've garnered some attention…"

The guards were stupidly confused by the lack of slave collar around the neck of the man and giant. It was, however, interesting that the injured fishman seemed to not only recognize the man before him, but know him on a personal level.

"Oh! Is that you, Hachi? It is! It's good to see you again. What are you doing here?" The man's face changed from an excited smile to anger, and he continued, "How did you get that injury? No, that's okay, you needn't say a thing." He started stroking his beard, looking around the room as he was visibly piecing together exactly what happened.

"In short… I see. I understand the situation now." He sighed deeply. "You sure got yourself in a heap of trouble, Hachi. And you folks saved him? Well then…"

Another blast of conqueror's haki passed over the room, and the rest of the guards fainted. Law was impressed that all of the Straw Hats were unaffected, even their weakest. The surge of power, combined with the telltale beard, stirred something in Law as he finally recognized the man.

"It couldn't be," he said. This was the King would would defeat Kaido? Law couldn't even picture it.

"That straw hat suits dauntless men very well." The man was speaking directly to Luffy now.

"I've been wanting to meet you… Monkey D. Luffy." For a moment, Law was envious of the younger man. To have such a pirate legend not only know you're name, but say that they've been wanting to meet you… He would have to keep a very close eye on this Monkey D. Luffy.

Law's smile returned.

He watched the old man as he stood in front the mermaid, ready to remove her collar. The others were loudly whining to their surprisingly still Captain about her exploding collar. But Law's eyes were fixated on the old man. He touched the collar lightly, and the ticking began. Law relished in the look of fear on the girl's face for a moment, before the man moved. It was fast, so fast Law almost missed it.

He had removed the collar with his bare hands. Law wasn't sure how, but he had.

The metal man - cyborg? - returned with a set of keys, complaining that the explosion had scared him, and asking why did he need to find the keys. He threw the now useless keys at the almost slaves instead, granting them their freedom.

The old man hopped off the stairs and started up the stairs. He finally noticed Law and Kid, speaking to them. "Sorry about that, you guys. I didn't realize that other pirates were watching. You must be quite strong to have withstood that with no problem at all."

Kid spoke up. "I never expected to meet such a big-shot here… 'Dark King' Silvers Rayleigh. No doubt about it. What's a legendary man doing in a place like this?"

Law had to give Kid credit for recognizing the legend as he had. It seems that the insane red-head was not as stupid as he first appeared.

The King's voice was light as he spoke to Kid. "On these islands I'm Mr. Ray, the coating craftsman. Don't go calling me that other name. I'm an old soldier now. I just want to live in peace and quiet."

He reached the fishman and crouched before him. "I take it you'll survive, Hachi? After I told you all those times not to walk around these islands…"

Law noticed the exchange was much like a father scolding his son. Interesting.

Rayleigh looked up at Straw Hat Luffy again. "Thank you for saving my friend, you guys."

Straw Hat Luffy frowned slightly before asking, "So, what's this about wanting to meet me, old man?" Good question. Straw Hat clearly didn't recognize who he was. Law docked him points for that.

"Hm. We'll save that for later, Straw Hat. First, we need to get out of here."

A voice on a loud speaker resonated from the entrance. "Ah, Ah, Alright, you criminals! Release the Roswald Family at once! An admiral will be arriving shortly. I recommend immediate surrender! Don't blame us for whatever happens, you rookies!"

Law grinned. "We're not only caught up in this, we're being treated as accomplices now."

Kid spoke up again. "I got a good glimpse of the insanity that makes Straw Hat Luffy so notorious. I have no complaints, but I'd rather not run into an admiral now if I can avoid it."

Rayleigh looked at him, his smile still light. "Oh, I'd prefer not to use that power of mine anymore, so I leave this to you. It'll be hard for me to stay settled down if the navy discovers who I am."

Kid scoffed. "I have no intention of helping out a senior citizen. The longer we stay here the more troops will gather. I'll go on ahead." He turned to walk away, waving a hand arrogantly as he spoke again, "While I'm at it, I'll help you guys out, too."

Rage bubbled up in Law's chest. Oh he was going to kill that man. Brutally.

Kid continued, not noticing the rage in Law's glare. "I'll clean things up outside, so don't worry!"

Law stood up, stalking angrily after the man who had clearly sent a challenge. He was going to destroy the marines out front without Kid. He didn't need anyone's help.

As Straw Hat also started up the stairs, a single thought passed through Law's head.

The navy won't know what hit them.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

By the time that the Dark King had joined them outside, the military forces had already been decimated. Law had greatly enjoyed the fight as a kind of stress reliever for all the pent up tension of the last hour.

The old man laughed loudly behind Law. "They are all quite reliable, aren't they."

Law took a glance and grinned at Straw Hat Luffy after surveying the destruction, amused by his opponent's now diminutive size.

"What's with that, Straw Hat-ya? That's not a very good finish…"

He looked back at Law, high pitched voice squeaking out, "Is that so?"

Kid hadn't seemed to notice or care. "Their formations don't amount to shit now."

As more soldiers ran haphazardly towards the three Captains, Kid spoke again. "Here we go. They've got no plan at all. It's a free-for-all."

Well what'd'ya know. Dangerous and mildly intelligent. Law had a feeling he couldn't say the same about Straw Hat who was currently snickering about returning to his full size.

Kid scoffed. "Well, Straw Hat. I'm glad I got the chance to meet you. But next time we meet, I won't show you any mercy."

What, no parting threat directed towards Law? He felt slighted. Before he could say anything, the Straw Had had to speak first.

"Hm… But I'm the one whose going to find One Piece."

This kid really had no sense of self-preservation. Or brains. Law noted it for later.

He might be useful. A brainless pawn.

Killer protected Kid from a marine with an axe, and promptly scolded him for standing around doing nothing.

"Oi, Killer." His voice was strangely calm and calculating. "On our journey up to this point we've been laughed at and ridiculed whenever we mentioned getting our hands on One Piece. And each and every time that happened I slaughtered everyone who laughed. But what lies ahead is a sea of death for those who don't have the guts to mention it."

His grin turned feral again. "Let's meet again in the New World."

Law smirk widened. All hell broke loose, and Law took a moment to observe the powers of Kids' men as they took on the marines. One marine in particular broke Law's concentration as he leaped at him, prepared to strike.

To be honest, he really wasn't worth Law's time. "Bepo," he commanded. It was all he needed to say. The bear took the man down with a single kick as Law turned around, going off his instincts as he walked over to the waiting slave of the Celestial Dragons. He smirked up at the large man, and used his room to remove the man's slave collar.

The half giant rubbed his collar-free neck, before turning to Law and speaking in a voice horse from lack of use. "Why?"

Law's grin widened. "Will you come along with me, pirate Captain Jean Bart?"

The man's eyes widened in surprise before he knocked back some approaching marines, killing them with a single backhanded blow.

"It's been a long time since I've been called that name." He turned, continuing to decimate the naval forces. "If it means that I can be free from the Celestial Dragons, I'll gladly serve under you."

Law liked his instincts. He trusted them. This man would serve him well. And if he was going to use the Straw Hat in the future, he might plant the seeds now.

"Give half of your thanks to Straw Hat-ya."

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

This is not how Law expected his day to go. Even with the "boom" that Is had warned him about. He'd have to punish Is severely for this. The first cyborg Shichibukai had been ridiculous enough.

Couldn't she have given him a little more warning?

He supposed that he had started unconsciously relying on her. He'd have to put an end to that. Clearly, he need to trust his instincts more than her guidance if it left him in scrapes like this one. Luckily, he had taken both of the cyborgs as an opportunity of sorts.

With his powers, he could have taken the cyborg to pieces. Instead, he played the role of a victim for three reasons. First, it was so that he could see how strong their newest member was. Second, it was to give his crew members a little more practice. Third, it was so that Kid would not know exactly how powerful Law really was.

Besides, the man was overconfident in his own abilities. He needed to be shown that if Law was going to have any fun killing him later.

Not today, though. No, when he eventually fought with Eustass Captain Kid, he wanted to take his time. The imminent arrival of an admiral would spoil the fun.

They had defeated the second cyborg much more easily than the first, although his fellow pirate Captain was starting to look a little worse for wear. He was panting heavily. Sweat was dripping down his chin and his ridiculous lipstick was smudged. He had roared and growled, but no satisfying scream for Law's ears. Law would have to content himself with the navy soldiers.

They were running in the same direction it seemed — for now anyway.

 _Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru._

Law pulled the transponder snail out of his hoodie pocket, answering it while he continued to run through the trees.

"Captain! Captain! I'm so sorry, but she's gone-"

Law halted for a moment, lip curling in a sneer and fighting rage before continuing to run. He had ordered her to stay put, damnit.

Kid glanced his direction, another calculating look on his face.

"We'll be there in a moment. Stay on the ship. If she isn't back when we get there-" He stopped speaking. They were rounding a bend to the clearing next to his ship, and Law could hear singing. "-never mind. I found her. Prepare to dive."

The Kid pirates had turned to go in another direction, but Kid had stopped, staring in the direction of the voice.

There was a muffled weeping noise as he rounded the corner and took in the scene in front of him.

This was gory even by Law's standards.

"-myself dreaming, in silver and gold-"

The men had clearly gone inside the ship, which is why they hadn't seen her. Law stopped for a moment, and he distinctly heard Shachi gag. There were probably about twenty marines lying around his ship in various levels of being ripped to shreds. The entire grassy clearing was coated in blood and entrails. The woman herself was straddling a man's chest, facing his feet as she pulled out his intestines.

"-like a scene from a movie that every broken heart knows-"

She was wrapping them around her neck like a necklace, joining the other lengths of intestines she had wrapped around herself as jewelry. She swayed as she sat, playing with the body's insides. Her face was completely soaked in blood, and there was a smile on her lips.

Law heard a low groan as she ripped the intestines from the body before reaching back in and playing with the body's other organs.

"-walking on moonlight, and you pulled me close... split second and you disappeared and then I was all alone-"

He realized the man was still alive as she played with his innards. Even as he mentally listed all of the reasons that he hated this woman, he found he couldn't prevent the grin on his face. She abruptly lost interest, bobbing her head along to the tune and standing up, twirling and dancing as she casually used an arm as a microphone. As she twirled, Law studied her facial expression.

She was crying. While smiling. Face covered in blood and bits of human flesh.

"-I woke up in tears, with you by my side, a breath of relief and I realize-"

Belatedly, Law noticed that Kid had joined him on top of the bluff. He was watching the scene before him with an interest that Law immediately disliked.

"-no, that we're not promised tomorrow-"

Fuck. This wasn't a children's song. So it had to be about the father. Which explained the tears and the smile. He frowned as he listened specifically to the words, realizing the underlying meaning.

"-I'm gonna hold you... like I'm saying goodbye-"

"Oi. Trafalgar."

Law glanced at Kid.

"When I kill you in the New World, that's the first thing I'm taking off your ship."

Law's grin widened. "I'd like to see you try. She's rather fond of me."

"-wherever we're standing... I won't take you for granted-"

Kid's feral smile widened as she dropped the arm, picking up a head instead and sang to it. She continued to twirl around, intestines draped around her chest and neck.

"-cause you never know when you run out of time-"

Law also realized that these marines had no doubt seen his ship and tried attacking it. Which means she had protected it. Again.

He pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind, turning and ordering his men to the ship, asking them to clear out the communal bathroom. Law refused to get his carpet stained again. He ignored Kid's watchful gaze as he walked up to the raving woman, grabbing her by the wrist.

"Is-ya."

She looked thoroughly pleased with herself. "Captain, they did it-no, I did it. Bad men. Stopped them."

He smiled. "Good girl. Take off your jewelry, it's time to go."

She blinked, and took off the intestines before seeming to notice Kid was there. Law's eyes narrowed and his grin dropped. He had an amused dislike for the man before, but the fact that she had even noticed his presence…

"Woah. Very-clown guy. He ugly."

Law couldn't help it. He laughed as Kid seethed. Before the man could do anything, Law was tugging the woman back towards the ship. He doubted that Kid had enough actual strength left to do anything, anyway.

"He gonna be stuck in snow."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. With a monster. Bad luck."

Law grinned, relieved. "Bad luck, indeed."


	15. Chapter 15

Hey all!

It has been brought to my attention that not everyone knows the same songs as I do. I will be going to go back through and add in annotations at the top of chapters so that you can look them up if you get curious. But know that you shouldn't need to. Even if you don't know what song it is, I specifically choose songs for the lyrics rather than the sound. :P

Enjoy! Drop a review!

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Law lay in his bed, listening to the sounds of the submarine and failing to sleep. Again.

They had spent the last few days below the sea, avoiding marines and pirates alike. Law learned that Jean Bart was a valuable resource that Bepo desperately needed — a second navigator who was already adept at steering the submarine. One of the many hassles of Law's ship was the fact that very few people in the world had the skills or training necessary to drive it. Jean Bart, it seemed, was an exception.

After such a bloody first encounter with Is, Jean Bart was also surprisingly unaffected by her. The man didn't even bat an eye after witnessing such brutal insanity as a woman dancing while wearing the internal organs of her enemies. Then again, the man hardly reacted to anything. He had been stoic and silent for the most part as he was introduced to the crew and the ship.

Partially out of respect for his former title and partially due to his size, he was given a spare officer's room. Shachi and Penguin had to add two extra beds to make one big enough for the half giant. The man's room, with his size, was practically a closet with a bed in it. He seemed perfectly happy with the arrangement, so Law let him be.

Law sighed as he turned in his bed, trying to turn off his mind so that he could rest. Unfortunately, his brain rarely listened.

Law had continued to question Is on the King, trying to find out when he would meet the man again. She had replied with no more useful information, so Law had decided to just wait it out. He was a patient man.

The execution with Ace would be happening in two days. His crew had been out on the deck and had snagged him a copy of the special edition newspaper before they had gone inside. Everyone on the ship was practically buzzing in excitement. They had procured a radio mushi that would give them a play-by-play of the events, something Quilo had won off of a bet a month or two back.

It seemed everyone in the world was waiting with baited breath. It was as if the world knew that they were teetering on the edge of an era, a major event in history that would change the way everyone saw the world.

Meaning that the last two days had been absurdly boring.

Thus back to Law's current problem.

He had at least finally gotten information about the Smiles from his informant. Artificial devil fruits. Nothing else, but it answered a lot of Law's questions — like how it related to Kaido. The man was known as the King of Beasts. Who more appropriate to be crafting an army of artificial devil fruit users than the beast himself?

 _"Sad makes smiles."_

He still was no closer to figuring out what sad meant, nor dragon.

His thoughts continued to swirl before Law stubbornly shoved them all to the back of his mind. He would sleep. He was going to sleep.

It took longer than he cared to admit, but he finally fell into a fitful sleep.

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A bang had Law awake and rolling out of his bed in a flash. He practically jumped to the ground, orienting himself for a moment as he tried to calm his racing heart. Anticipation and adrenaline was quickly replaced by annoyance as he realized that they were not under attack. He sighed, realizing that he was not destined for sleep tonight. Looking over at his clock, it was still in the dark hours of the morning.

Although it was always dark at this depth.

The sobbing from the other room, mixed with screams as Is pounded on a wall forced Law to confront the fact that he would have to now invest his time in redirecting the woman. He straightened, not bothering with a shirt as he put one hand in the pocket of his sleep pants. He pushed his door open and turned to angrily face her.

"No! No! No! I'm here! I'm right here! Please, can't you see me?"

Law stopped, watching her and fighting the feelings in his chest. He forced himself to remain blank as he watched her banging against the wall. Judging by the blood, she had broken skin multiple times now.

"I'm here, I'm right here! Damnit, you promised! You swore to me!"

She was sobbing as she yelled, banging on the wall. Law almost approached her.

"You can't! You swore! Until death, you ass! You can't!"

Almost.

Law's office door opened slowly, a sleepy Bepo poking his head in with a couple of the night crew standing behind him. Although most of the crew was "day crew," there were enough people to have a skeleton "night crew." Running a pirate ship was a 24 hour a day affair.

Law shook his head and waved them off as the sobbing woman finally stopped her incessant banging. As they closed the door, Law took a seat on the floor, leaning against the back of his couch as he watched the fight drain out of her.

"… you promised me forever, you fucktard… you can't… I'm right here…"

But clearly he had. Law watched her with half lidded eyes, fighting his feelings of sympathy. It had been a long time since he had ever felt love, actual love, for anything. He'd certainly never been in love. And he never cared enough to empathize. So why was he now?

"… don't… you can't… Eric you can't… that's not me…"

She continued to sob, as Law pieced together what happened. Shakky had never called them cracks; she had called them windows. The way Is was just banging on the was was similar to a person banging on a window desperately, trying to get someones attention. Samei had mentioned her crying because Eric had forgotten her. Law supposed that, like any normal man, the boy's father had forgotten her as well.

"… why… why can't you hear me…"

She probably watched him as he got another woman into his bed. Maybe more.

 _"… Fiona says she's out shoppin'… but she's under him and he's not stopping…"_

Scratch that, she definitely had.

Her protests faded into sobs as she realized that for all of her struggles, her family was lost to her in more ways than one.

Law watched her, for once allowing the emotions she made him feel run their course as she lay broken in front of him. He did not reach out to her, willing her to accept it and move on.

If she would forget them this would be so much easier.

If only she would just forget.

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Law looked up from this breakfast as Is sat in front of him, transfixed by a spot over his shoulder. Her face was marked by a twinge of sadness as she watched.

"… What do you see, Is-ya?"

"Fire… today… fire…"

The execution would be happening soon. "The fire dies today, correct?"

She nodded, then frowned. "Captain… Captain are you going?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you mean."

She was clearly confused by something. "You need to."

"… Excuse me?"

"The hat…" her expression turned blank as she saw Law anew and giggled. "I like your tattoos. Can I touch them?"

It was amusing at first. Until he had realized why she wanted to touch his tattoos. Now it was flat out insulting. He glared.

"No, Is-ya. You are not allowed to touch my tattoos. Don't ask me again."

She nodded, seeming disappointed. Shachi turned to her, pulling up his sleeve.

"I have a tattoo, Is-chan! You can touch mine." He smiled at her as she seemed to consider the arm that magically appeared in front of her. She reached a finger out and traced the tattoo on Shachi's arm with a soft smile, eliciting a blush from the mechanic. Law felt his eyebrow twitch.

Did he have to honestly tell the man that she was off limits?

What was it with his crew being attracted to a mental patient?

Law supposed it was his own fault. Shachi and Penguin had been confined to the sub, and unlike some other members of the crew who traded sexual favors back and forth, they were decidedly straight. It was a fact that Quilo had lamented loudly multiple times in the rec room.

Then again, Shachi was easy to make blush.

Law settled for a glare at the man, whose deepening blush proved Law's own point. Law went back to his meal, chewing as he thought about things that actually mattered. She had told him he needed to go… to the execution? He had no reason to. In fact, he had every reason to avoid that area.

But then again, they were still close to Sabaody, meaning close to Marie Jois. It never hurt to keep her words in mind.

Law finished, standing to return his plate to the counter. Samei was sitting with Is, and she had finally stopped crying whenever Law left. He turned to head down the hallway to talk to Bepo about steering the sub a little bit closer to Marie Jois in case he changed his mind. Bepo seemed confused, but directed the sub as Law left for the rec room. Quilo had already set up his radio mushi to listen to the play-by-play report on the execution. Law had left a new medical journal in the rec room last night, and intended to finish it while his men listened to the action. He opened the door and walked over to sit on an armchair in the back.

The room was one of the biggest in the sub, the only one that was larger being the training room downstairs. On one end was a full bar, wooden counter top immaculate and back shelves fully stocked. There was a row of taps to suit a highly varied taste in beer. The men could serve themselves from this bar, but they were required to be fully functioning when their shifts started. Unless they ran across someone, Law gave everyone one day "off-duty" a week. This was partially for moral, and partially because studies showed that having time off was good for mental health. He even arranged it so that often, on birthdays or holidays, they were either docked or able to run on a skeleton crew to celebrate.

They thought it was because he was kind and loved them. The truth was that it was easy to arrange, and they were that much more obedient for it. It was the little things that kept people satisfied in their roles. A happy crew meant a successful one.

People were easy to manipulate.

After the bar came an open seating area. Four large couches all faced each other, making a large rectangle. This was where the crew usually sat and partied, swapping stories, bets and dares. On the opposite side of the room from the bar was a full wall of books of every kind. The seating in this area was for either single occupants or small groups, it was a little bit darker (although most of the lounge chairs had a lamp for reading by), and meant to be a quiet reprieve from the rest of the room. It was here that Law took a seat, opening the medical journal and studying it's contents. The clink of china brought Law's attention up as he looked into Quilo's eyes.

"Sorry, Cap, just givin' you a cuppa." Law smiled as he eyed the coffee the black mug. He took a tentative sip, smiling slightly as the black coffee passed his lips. He looked up at the man above him, giving him a nod. The man waved as he walked away, sashaying his hips.

Unlike some other men, Law had no problem with flamboyant gays or crossdressers in the world. It earned him fanatical support from their circles. It was honestly shocking exactly much information it had gained him. They were surprisingly good informants. There were more gay or gay-inclined pirates in high ranking crews than most people gave credit for, and due to prosecution they were more than happy to support anyone who honestly didn't give a shit who they were fucking.

Because Law honestly didn't give a shit.

Law continued to sip his coffee, listening as the coverage began, announcing the arrival of Whitebeard's crew as if it was a surprise. Law chuckled at the idiocy of it all. He kept one ear out for anything interesting as he continued to study a new technique to locate and treat blood clots.

It wasn't until over an hour later that a single piece of information finally caught his attention.

Monkey D. Luffy had appeared on the battlefield, after literally falling from the sky.

That man. Honestly. How was Law supposed to use him if he was dead?

 _"The hat…"_

No. No, he wouldn't. It was suicide.

It wasn't until the announce shouted his next piece of information that Law stood up.

"Monkey D. Luffy has been revealed to be the brother of Portgas D. Ace! Son of the infamous revolutionary Dragon-"

Law heard enough. He made his decision.

There was no way that man would be leaving uninjured. Besides, this would be a great way to make Straw Hat indebted to him.

He left the room, going to find Bepo to order them to Marie Jois. They would wait in the depths, and rise out to provide the perfect escape vehicle. Not for the first time, Law thanked himself for foresight to have a submarine. He sincerely doubted that anyone else would be able to pull off what he was about to.

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It had been hours. The operation had been intense, but he had managed it. It would definitely go down in Law's memory as one of his favorites. Not only the injuries on Straw Hat, but the unexpected appearance of the Shichibukai Jinbei as well. Operating on the fishman was a new experience for sure. As he finished, he glanced to the corner.

It had been hours since Is had spoken. Or moved. She had watched the entire operation, eyes trained on Straw Hat, her expression blank. Law grabbed a rag to clean his hands as a crew member burst into the room.

"Captain! Boa Hancock is riding on a naval ship, and they're right next to us!"

Law regarded his panicking crew member for a moment before looking back at Is. She didn't seem bothered. In fact, she still hadn't moved. Law frowned, but left the operating theater as Samei and James finished up the rest. He continued to clean his hands as he walked up to the main deck.

This was interesting. The Pirate Empress herself was following them.

After Law had given the order to head towards the navy headquarters, he had listened intently to the rest of the coverage of the war. It seemed that Straw Hat Luffy had more allies than even the announcer had noticed, if Law read in between the lines just a little. Even the fact that he had been saved by Buggy the Clown, and especially that his signature hat had been found and returned by none other than Red Haired Shanks himself…

Law knew that his actions today had earned him the anger of the navy, but it also earned him the respect and loyalty of all of Straw Hat's numerous powerful allies. Is was right again — he needed to be there. The boy would have died if he had not saved him.

The same boy who now had the Pirate Empress personally checking up on him. Law continued to dry his hands as he thought, opening the door to his sub slowly.

One look at the face of Boa Hancock, and Law answered before she even had a chance to ask him directly.

"I did everything I could."

She looked relieved. "You mean, he's okay?"

"We were able to stabilize him. However, he took greater damage than you think. There is no guarantee that he will survive yet."

The woman infamous for breaking hearts across the seas looked dejectedly heartbroken over Law's prognosis. Another thing to file away for later.

"It's no wonder!" yelled a voice from the ship above.

"Whose voice is that?" asked Penguin as him, Shachi and Bepo looked around for the source.

"Straw Hat boy couldn't even stand up at Impel Down once!" Law looked up to see a man bigger than Jimbei and dressed more flamboyantly than Quilo ever dared to. The man's face took up at least half of his height. His entire look, topped off by his ridiculous purple hair, made Kid's outfit look normal. Furthermore, the man was surrounded by a number of other people in various levels of fishnets and cosplay.

Law was briefly thankful that Quilo never pulled that shit on his ship. He may not care who was fucking who (so long as they wore protection), but he had a reputation to maintain.

"Straw Hat was risking his life!"

"We got out of the prison because of him!"

Right. Straw Hat Luffy had broken into and out of _the_ impenetrable fortress, the underwater prison. Then magically fell from the sky in the middle of a war full of some of the biggest powers in the world. Law could see why, if his theory was correct, there might be a story about this world in Is's world. It was fantastical.

"Because of him, we can make our dream come true! To go to the Kamabakka Kingdom!"

"Let's go!"

"To the New Kama's home from New Kama Land!" The entire group was posing and cheering.

Law was unimpressed.

"What's with them?" asked Shachi.

"They are prisoners of Impel Down. Looks like they're Luffy's friends," answered Boa Hancock. "They have snuck onto the ship."

The purple haired giant transvestite flipped onto Law's deck. "I can't believe that he pushed himself that hard. That's how much he wanted to save his brother Ace."

"That's right!" cheered the group from above. "We know how much he pushed himself to do it!"

The giant transvestite's tone turned grave. "But that brother died in front of his eyes in order to protect him… There is no justice in this world! It's not surprising that he broke down!"

All these people whining about one idiot who did it to himself. As glad as Law was that he was now a temporary ally in their eyes, he was regretting coming out onto the deck. A voice was nagging in the back of his mind. As they worried about Straw Hat, Law's mind was on the silent Is.

The purple haired man shook Law out his thoughts. "By the way, are you a friend of Straw boy?"

Law didn't even bother trying to cover himself. "No, I didn't have to save him at all. If you are wondering about my motivation, I can come up with a reason."

"No, that's okay. Sometimes your instinct tells you what to do."

Samei voice rang out behind Law. "Hey, wait!"

James was not far behind him. "You can't walk around yet!"

"Don't push yourself like that!"

"He told you to rest!"

"The wound could open up!"

"Where are you going?"

Jimbei himself stepped onto the deck, clearly struggling to breathe. He looked at Law, gaze intense with pain and concentration. "You're Trafalgar Law from the North Blue, aren't you?"

Law matched his gaze for intensity, before nodding. Law ignored the purpled haired man as he focused in on the fishman in front of him.

"Thank you. You saved my life." He bowed his head forward.

"Go sleep. You'll die."

Jimbei shook his head, and Law started wondering if anyone he ran into had any concept of self-preservation. The fishman started lamenting about the loss of Firefist Ace and of Luffy's inner turmoil. Law entertained the thought of telling him that Is had predicted his death weeks ago, but refrained as the Pirate Empress offered to house them at the maiden island until Straw Hat recovered. Law ignored her blatantly ordering his men around. They could take care of themselves.

Law turned on his heel, entering the sub as his men tried to convince the stubborn fishman that he needed to rest. Law had already warned him once and wasn't about to waste his breathe again. As he entered the dim hallway, Law's eyes narrowed.

Samei was there. Is was not.

"Samei, where is Is-ya?"

Samei hesitated. "She… she hasn't moved, Captain. She wouldn't follow me. I figured it was best to try to get the patient back to his bed…"

Although the boy was right in a way, Law cared far more about the seer than the fishman. He walked passed the boy and towards the operating room where Straw Hat Luffy was resting in intensive care. He opened the door, looking down at the woman who was completely captivated by the boy.

This was starting to grate on Law's nerves. To his knowledge, she had never met Straw Hat. It was possible that she felt like she knew him from her visions.

 _"He's my favorite. I like him more than you. You won't find him here, no, no."_

Law frowned and rejected the idea that popped into his head. The young man was strong, he'd give him that, but he was far off from defeating someone on the level of Kaido. He crouched in front of Is.

"Is-ya. What do you see?"

She continued to watch Luffy, but parted her lips as if she was about to say something. Law waited patiently as she seemed to gather her thoughts, eyes unfocused.

"I… see… the will… and… pain…"

The will, meaning Straw hat. He was probably in a lot of pain. Or he would be, if he regained consciousness.

"… sun… fire… flowers… moving…"

She her eyes shifted as she gazed at him, eyes still unfocused. "Captain…" she reached out with a hand to touch his cheek. "Thank you."

And with that, she went back to her silent vigil, seeming to completely cut herself off from the outside world. Law glared at the audacity, but before he had the chance to force her back, he was called away to coordinate the ship movements with Boa Hancock. He held back a snarl at his crew members, stalking off to go discuss movements with Bepo and the Shichibukai.

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After their first week off the coast of the maiden island, Law was ready to leave. He would wait one more week before leaving the boy here to die without his medical facilities. At this point, every day that he didn't wake up it was less likely that he would.

Is hadn't remained in the operating room. His crew had forced her out into the sun, even remembering to give her sunscreen so that she didn't burn. She continued to go through long periods of stoic staring, even almost walking off the edge of the cliff twice before his crew grabbed her back. Her strange gloominess was starting to affect his crew, and he cursed the Straw Hat Boy that he had saved.

This was many levels of ridiculous. The boy somehow had a natural way of making friends _everywhere_. Law could understand it if he knew there was something in that empty skull of his, some angle or plan behind the facade, but he was convinced there wasn't. It was why he had originally rescued the idiot — he was so simple that it would be child's play to manipulate him later. Law blamed it on Straw Hat's middle name. Cora-san had come running to help him the moment that he found out, so it must be a similar effect.

A pirate. With friends. Honest, real friends, not informants or brokers. Friends who were worried for his well-being to the point of asking Law every few minutes. It was another thing that was grating on Law's nerves.

There was no cutting Is on this island with prying eyes. Law didn't trust any of them any farther than he could throw them. Law was beyond twitchy. Luckily, she hadn't asked. Her gloominess seemed to ward off the usual headaches.

His men were starting to get equally frustrated. There was nothing to do until it came time for meals, and even then the women were not supposed to talk to his men. Penguin finally understood Is's prophecy about the snake lady when they told him 'no' repeatedly. The snakes curled around their shoulders were a dead giveaway.

Law had zero interest in the women of the island. Luffy had been the only man that they'd ever seen, judging by the first day when they had asked him how far he stretched. Even the prettiest one was not attractive if they didn't know what to do with a penis.

Law didn't consider himself especially picky, but virgins had long since lost their attractive glow.

Worse than a normal, blushing virgin, these women were so clueless that they hadn't realized Is was a woman. Penguin and Shachi had gotten offended and tried to "defend her honor" only to have the women excitedly try talking to the girl. It was amusing to watch when they slowly realized that she didn't register them as existing. They had eventually backed away, and now constantly eyed the girl with a mixture of concern and suspicion.

It was lunchtime. Law was sitting with his back to a tree, drinking wine straight from the bottle to kill the worst of the itching in his fingers. This area was peaceful enough that he indulged himself just a little. Jimbei walked over to him, a question in his eyes as Law shook his head. There was no change in the Straw Hat's condition. Law took another drink as his gaze shifted over to the schizophrenic.

Jimbei took a seat next to Law with a grunt.

"… I told you to rest."

He grunted in acknowledgement. "Trafalgar Law… who is that woman you have with you?"

Law paused, considering the bottle in his hand. He had drunk just enough that he would need to be extra cautious with his words.

"Why?"

The man thought deeply for a moment. When Jimbei spoke again, his gruff voice surprisingly soft. "In my homeland, there is a mermaid who is plagued by visions of the future. I've seen similar expressions on their faces."

Law's curiosity had piqued. James had mentioned a possible seer on Fishman island. "What expression?"

"The one she's wearing right now."

Law looked back at the schizophrenic. She was sitting on the ground, facing him as Samei attempted to feed the girl. There was a slight frown on her face, lips tugged down as her eyes unfocused. It was that gloomy expression that had become the norm for the last week.

"I've been watching her this week, Trafalgar Law. She has that expression a lot. Madame Sharley is often plagued by her visions. She once confided with me about how knowing the future is not a happy fate. Her eyes then are the same eyes as your crewmate now."

Law considered this. Maybe her mood had nothing to do with Straw Hat. Maybe he had been wrong.

"How often does she suffer from the visions?"

Law took another drink, weighing his options before answering. "Constantly." Jimbei's horrified expression gave him pause before he continued. "She has never gone more than a few minutes without."

Jimbei's expression turned solemn. "She must be a powerful seer then. It is a terrible burden."

He took another drink while picking his words carefully. "It is something that many would kill for."

Jimbei looked thoughtfully at Law. "… Understood. Her secret is safe with me."

Law let the silence stretch between them. He thought about the Fishman's words as he watched Shachi slowly coax her into eating.

Was that what had plagued her this last week? The fact that she had seen something she hadn't wanted know, and knowing that she couldn't change it? Law wondered if he had spoken up and told someone if the outcome of the fight would have changed.

No, he was foolish for thinking that. Besides, she was meant to guide him to making the prophecies come true. Last week had shown him that. The fire would have died whether or not he was involved, but Straw Hat Luffy would surely have died if he hadn't stepped in. If she hadn't come into his life, he would never have met Straw Hat Luffy.

They'd both be dead.

At least, according to the seer. Looking back though, he agreed. He had been too eager. He knew about Smiles now, and he had a plan. It might take years to accomplish, but if he was lucky, he would be able to pull it off. If he was just lucky enough, he would accomplish more than one goal with his plan.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Meeting the King again was certainly an amusing experience. Never, in Law's wildest dreams, would he have imagined the man not only would show up on the maiden island, but show up specifically looking for the same goddamn young man who had just fucking gone and blown up his ship.

If he was paying Is, he would have taken the money for repairs out of her salary. Law supposed that he should be glad that they were leaving, because he felt like he wanted to pounce on the girl as soon as they left.

Well. In the sense that Law was going to mutilate her and force her out of her ridiculous depression.

Back to the matter of leaving.

"He needs to rest for a full two weeks."

The Dark King nodded, promising to take good care of the rubber man before reaching into his coat pocket.

"I have a message for you, by the way."

This got Law's undivided attention.

The man pulled out a letter in a sealed plastic bag. It seemed someone knew this man would be taking a dive and taken precautionary measures. Law's eyes narrowed as his brain pieced together exactly what that meant.

"My wife would like to send her regards. I've written some useful things for you from my end of things."

Law took the sealed bag with the envelope, keeping his gaze even. This explained how Law would be connected to the King. The King who would defeat Kaido and prevent the world from exploding.

Unless…

The man was intending to train Monkey D. Luffy. Although the young man was not nearly powerful enough to defeat Kaido now, training with this legend… No. There was no fucking way that Monkey D. Luffy was both the Will and the King. No.

Rayleigh had noticed Is who was currently wandering in circles and muttering about sheep with lost heads. His emotions were too well hidden for Law to decipher. Law murmured his thanks, indicating for his men to start boarding the ship.

"You need to pull her back, young man."

Law glanced up at the supposed King. "I don't know what you mean."

The man flashed Law a grin that was equally unassuming and devious. "Hopefully that letter will help. Safe journeys, and may she keep you as safe as mine kept me."

Well, there's another point for that bubble world theory. If Silvers Rayleigh believed it…

Law turned to tug Is on her arm gently, pulling her to the ship while clutching the letter tightly in his hand. As soon as they had boarded, Law shut the door and called into the pipe that connected to the navigation room, "Let's go. Keep on the watch for Sea Kings."

Law was rarely bothered by Sea Kings. He hadn't bothered to tell Boa Hancock that his ship was outfitted with Sea Prism stone in several strategic locations on the hull. It was not enough to harm him, or prevent him from moving the sub with his powers on the occasions where he needed to. It was just enough to distort Sea King's views of the ship in the depths. He looked back at the woman who had gone uncharacteristically silent again. He clenched his jaw, knowing that he wouldn't be able to cut into her just yet. The appearance of Silvers Rayleigh meant that he needed to change his plans for the immediate future, which meant a discussion with his two navigators.

Law pulled her away from the door, sending her into the rec room for now with Samei to watch her. He promptly turned back to go to his meeting, carefully putting the letter in his hoodie pocket to read later.

Later, Law would learn from Samei exactly what happened.

She said just six words before it did. Six words before everything changed. Six words that Law would later burn into his memory.

Six words that would always haunt him.

"I'm done. Eric, I'm coming home."


	16. Chapter 16

From his vantage point in the control room, Law relaxed with his hands behind his head, his feet up on the dash. He had offered to watch the controls while Bepo got a snack from the kitchen, giving him a moment to reflect on the amusing and infuriating Monkey D. Luffy.

"I wonder what the Dark King is up to," he mused out loud. "Seems that he's drawn to another man with the Will of the D." His grin widened, as he remembered Cora-san's words on that one night in the middle of no where.

"It will surely blow up a storm again…"

That's when the first scream happened.

Law groaned, standing up and walking to the rec room where he had left the girl. The autopilot controls would be fine for a moment. As he walked down the hallway, he frowned at the continued screech that echoed in the hallway.

This was not her usual scream. Law couldn't shake the immediate feeling that something was inherently wrong. It was if the air itself was _wrong_ , as if the walls of his sub were _wrong_ , as if the heart beating in his chest was _wrong_ -

Law broke out into a run, flinging the rec room's door open. Samei was kneeling over Is and trying desperately to shake her out of her violent fit as she writhed on the floor. Law walked to reach for her, and stopped.

Is moved away from him.

She had known that he was coming, and she had pushed herself away. While in a fit of pure agony.

Law's eyes widened further as he continued to watch her, the dread sinking into the pits of his stomach as he just knew something was _wrong-_

As she thrashed, a single finger passed through the floor, dissolving and reforming before his very eyes.

Samei hadn't seen it. Law wasn't sure if that was a good thing as he now wondered if he'd imagined it. But no, if he squinted just enough her body was outlined in a blurry haze as parts were continually dissolving and reforming in such rapid succession that Samei couldn't see it. He took an experimental step forward only for her writhing body to push itself away from him again.

 _"The sensation that I can liken it to is having your body dissolved and reassembled. There's no words to describe the intensity of pain involved in the process."_

Everything clicked as he realized that she was trying to go home. Here was the proof in front of his eyes that confirmed Shakky's ridiculous theory. His lip curled for a moment as anger washed over him. She dared, she fucking dared to leave him like this, leave him when they had so much to still do, at the beginning of this new era-

 _She was a mother. Ripped away from her son. Tortured, raped, beaten, unable to die-_

 _Those screams when he teleported her… she had been screaming for Eric. Dimly, he realized she was screaming about losing him._

 _"Uh… I asked her what she meant, and she curled up and said that she had been replaced, that he was calling someone else now, and that he didn't remember her anymore…"_

 _Her protests faded into sobs as she realized that for all of her struggles, her family was lost to her in more ways than one._

"Captain! Captain, what should we do?" Samei was looking at him with panic, eyes pleading for direction. Law was at a loss. He wanted to be angry, to force her to come back. She was _his_ guide, damnit.

 _"You're lucky, Mr. Trafalgar. You are so crucial to the future that fate has decided to give you a gift. She sees you even when she rejects everything else because you are the reason she is here. She's here to guide you."_

And yet here she was trying to leave him, forcing herself through that supposed indescribable agony of your entire body being disintegrated in a clearly desperate attempt to go home. To leave.

To return to her family.

What would he have done to get his family back? To get Cora-san back?

Anything.

"Put her in the Freezer. It's soundproof." He turned on his heels and promptly left the room. He didn't trust himself to not try stopping her if he stayed. He retreated to his room, shutting the door and leaning against it. His breathing was slow and shaky as his mind started to actually register everything that just happened. A crinkle in his pocket reminded him reminded him of the letter he had received.

There was no point to it. Really, there wasn't. She was forcing herself to return home, and she would. There was no doubt in Law's mind that stubborn woman would finally be reunited with her family.

Somehow, his fingers ignored his thoughts. They still opened the envelope. They still pulled out the paper. Perhaps it was an attempt by his body to avoid the image of her dissolving before his very eyes, but he began reading the damn thing.

 _Guided one,_

 _It seems that you've made quite the impression on my wife. She asks you to visit her again soon. In the meantime, she's also asked that I tell you a little bit from my side of things. Sadly, there isn't much to say._

 _You'll find that you have some level of control over your guide. You may have even noticed this. It varies from pair to pair and depends on the strength of the bond. She'll be a strong companion for you in whatever capacity you need. I've always found that touch was the best way to reinforce any command you give._

 _If your guide is still as fragmented as she was when you visited, then you must get her to recognize reality. The transition will leave her dependent for a short while, but it will even out. Unfortunately, forgetting is not as wonderful as many people think._

 _I'm afraid I can't help more than that. I am excited to see what your future holds, and will be watching from the sidelines._

 _Mr. Ray_

Law continued to stare at the letter in his hand, his back against his closed office door as his legs were sprawled out on the ground in front of him. His hand slowly dropped to the carpet beneath him and his gaze wandered to his ceiling as he tried, for the second time in three weeks, to not think of anything at all.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

After the first day, Law had addressed his crew on his deck, telling them that they would not be heading to the New World yet. Shachi and Penguin had asked where Is was. Law had simply replied that she was not feeling well and left it at that. He hadn't wanted to explain that she was trying to jump dimensions — his suspicion having been confirmed when Samei had reported what she said before she fell.

Law was confident in her stubbornness. She would return to her world.

 _"I'm done. Eric, I'm coming home."_

Her screams had not stopped.

After the second day, Law continued to tell himself that she was okay, that she could do it, that she just needed more time. For the first time, he avoided his operating room. For the first time, he didn't want to hear the muffled screams that came from the Freezer.

After the third day, Law began to realize that nothing had changed. There was no increase in the amount of haziness around her. Her screams had not stopped. Every time a section of skin or flesh seemed to split into individual atoms, it reformed before his eyes.

It was on the fourth day that he realized that she would not return home. She never would.

He knocked on Bepo's cabin door.

"Ah! Come in! I'm sorry."

Law opened the door. An uncharacteristic heaviness seemed to weigh on his chest. Even Bepo's natural apologetic nature couldn't seem to lift it. He opened the door and entered, closing it behind him.

"Bepo, is there an uninhabited island or sandbar nearby?"

Bepo blinked. "Uh… let me check."

He turned to his desk and opened up a drawer, pulling out a map of their nearby vicinity. "Um… Hm. We should be able to run in something if we go Southwest for a few hours. There's a few options in that direction. Though, this is the Grand Line — it will take some trial and error."

Law folded his arms across his chest as he gazed at the map for a moment.

"Captain… is something wrong?"

Law kept his eyes on the map. If he was right, he needed to make sure his crew would be safe without him for… who knows how long.

"Captain… is it Is-chan?"

Law kept his face blank, looking at the map as he tried to find the right words to say. After a long pause, he settled for nodding stiffly. Bepo didn't say anything. The mink-man had always been perceptive to Law's occasional bouts of emotion, and seemed to recognize that Law did not enjoy those emotions being brought to his attention. It was a lot easier to pretend they weren't there.

"Find something. Someplace quiet and uninhabited, I don't care where. You have 24 hours." With that, Law turned to leave.

"… Aye Aye, Captain…"

Law paused at the door before leaving, his hand on the handle. He debated with himself for a moment.

"… Bepo."

"Yes, Captain?"

"… The sooner the better. Is-ya is depending on it."

He couldn't explain the urgency that he felt, same as he couldn't explain how he knew something was wrong with the air when she first collapsed. He wondered if the shadows were somehow reaching him through his strange connection with the woman in his Freezer.

"Will do, Captain."

Law turned and left, walking to his room down the hall and locking the door behind him. He wanted to be alone. This shouldn't be affecting him like this.

Law knew what he had to do. She was his guide. She was supposed to be here. She needed to accept and forget. It was what was supposed to happen.

 _"I'm done. Eric, I'm coming home."_

So why did he feel like he was dying?

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Bepo managed to find something three hours later. It was a half-island, the kind with some vegetation, shallows and coral reefs, but it was tiny. There weren't even birds on the mini-island. It was so out of the way that Law doubted they would be bothered.

It was perfect. Law thanked his first mate, and ordered everyone off the ship for an impromptu vacation. He gave them free reign to party outside so long as enough crew members stayed sober in case of emergency. He then told them that under no circumstances were they to interrupt him in his operating room.

Of course, he didn't tell them this in person. He had Bepo relay the message. He hadn't trusted himself enough to keep his emotions in check.

He was leaning against the doors of his operating theater, listening to the faint bloodcurdling screams of the woman in his Freezer as he struggled to keep his mind blank. It wasn't working.

 _"I'm done. Eric, I'm coming home."_

What he was about to do, if he was right, would prevent the woman from ever returning home. This woman who had survived years of rape, torture, and her soul being split as she desperately clung to the possibility of returning to her home. Everything that she fought and lived for, her entire identity. Her reason for living.

He would have done anything to get his family back. She clearly would, too. Except he was going to stand in the way. He was and forever would be the reason that she had lost hers.

Guilt. That's what Law was feeling. Guilt, shame, and despair.

Law had never been right in the head. Even as a child he enjoyed making the other children in his class scream, enjoyed dissecting things as they died, and enjoyed making things bleed. As he went through tragedy after tragedy, that sadism had only increased in ferocity as he began to despise the world around him. He had cut himself off from emotions, pushed everyone around him away so that nothing would ever hurt him again. Sadism was easy. Cruelty was easy.

But not this time.

He swallowed, finally pushing himself off of the door. Every step was heavy as he acknowledged the burden he was about to carry.

Even if she did forget, he never would.

The King was right. Forgetting was not as easy as everyone thinks.

He reached the door to the freezer, opening it slowly as he almost wanted to walk away, turn away and never come back. But Trafalgar Law did not run away from anything. He opened the door.

He took in her form as the shrieks hit his ears. He glared, frustrated at his own hesitation and simultaneously looking to see if there was any change, any at all, in the amount of her body that had disappeared.

There was none.

The sense of urgency returned. He shut the Freezer door behind him, and moved as fast as he could to prevent her from moving away in time. He threaded a hand through her hair, lifting her up from her prone position on the ground, one hand touching the skin at the base of her neck as he pushed her against the wall, pressing his body to her, holding her hips with his and her arms with his elbows as he pinned her against the wall. She struggled, kicked, screamed, fighting him with every ounce of strength she had left as she seemed to realize what was about to happen. She stopped dissolving.

Law needed to shut her up if this was going to work. He moved the hand on her neck to cover her mouth, effectively dampening the volume of her screams, touching his forehead to hers as he tried to force eye contact. She had shut them. Her struggles became even more desperate as she clawed at his skin with her fingers.

"Isabelle, listen to me."

She screamed louder behind his hand and thrashed, tears streaking down her face.

"Is, listen to my voice. You must stop this."

With every word she flinched and somehow fought harder. Even if it was not the strength that she had used to brutally rip opponents to shreds, she was drawing blood on Law's skin and leaving bruises.

He let her.

 _"I'm done. Eric, I'm coming home."_

"Isabelle, you must forget about Eric. I am ordering you to forget about Eric."

He pushed up on her chin, preventing the bite as her teeth grazed his skin. Her eyes were tightly shut even as tears continued to leak down her face.

If he didn't know about her healing ability, he would be concerned about her breathing. The breaths came so short and quick that Law had to remind himself to focus on the task at hand.

"Isabelle, look at me."

She thrashed, shaking her head as her body shook violently from the strength of her sobs.

"Isabelle, that's an order. I order you to open your eyes and look at me."

Law waited as she fought him, before her eyes fluttered open. He could tell that she was blinded by her tears.

"Listen to my voice. I'm real. You know I'm real. Accept it."

She closed her eyes again and fought again, but with less strength than before. He knew it was starting to work.

"Open your eyes and look at me, Is. I order you to look at me, and only me. You may not look away."

She struggled again for a moment, until her eyes opened. From that expression of hatred, Law knew that it had been against her will. He took her hatred. Hatred was good. Hatred was understandable.

He was a monster, after all.

"I order you to accept it. I'm real. You must forget about everything from before. Forget about your previous life. Forget your family. Forget everything. There's only me now. Focus on me. Everything you know about me, everything you've seen about me, that's real. That's your reality. Focus on it. I order you to focus only on me."

She screamed and thrashed again, flinching at each word that he spoke as if it was a physical punch. But her eyes never left his, even as the hatred burned in her eyes. That raw, violent, murderous gaze as he forced her to give up everything that she had had spent years trying to get back.

"I order you to forget your previous reality. I order you to accept me. I am your only reality now."

From there, he did the one thing he swore to never do. He told her everything. He held her gaze as he told her of the white town, of his parents and his sister, of the festival where his sister collapsed, of the burning and death, of his hatred, of his days with Doflamingo, of Corazon, of his revenge. At first she continued to thrash, attacking him and leaving marks everywhere she could reach. Slowly, he watched as the light died in her eyes. Her limbs lost strength, her screams died to sobs behind his palm, and she became a shuddering mess in the cold of the Freezer. Law's voice became hoarse, but he didn't dare stop. Not until her eyes turned dull and the tears finally stopped.

It must have been hours. Law didn't know. In the face of what he had done, he did the one thing his mind seemed to be able to do. He never once relinquished his hold on her. Even as they slid to the ground, even as she finally passed out from the ordeal, he never let her go. He felt like if he did, if for one moment he let her go, that she would be lost to him forever. So he held her, pulling her into his lap as he allowed himself, again, a chance to let the emotions run their course through his very bones.

 _"I'm done. Eric, I'm coming home."_

Not even the chill of the Freezer provided it's usual comfort. Law allowed his world to shrink down to the sensation of electricity as he held her. One hand rested on her neck as she sat curled in his lap, his other hand gently massaging her scalp and his cheek pressed to her forehead. He wanted as much skin contact as possible as he silently pleaded that this would be it, that she would finally forget everything and recognize reality. This reality.

His grip tightened as a single thought rang clearly through his mind.

He would never forgive himself.


	17. Chapter 17

At some point, Law vaguely began to register that he was shivering. He had spent so long holding her that he was starting to suffer the consequences.

But he wasn't ready. Not yet. He couldn't let her go.

So he didn't.

He carefully stood, never relinquishing the grip on her hair, and cradled her in his arms. His body was stiff and sore, and his chest felt hollow. He carried her out of the Freezer, into his operating room, and shut the Freezer door behind him. His legs started to give out, so he dropped to the floor and just held her there, burying his face in her neck and breathing.

Her smell. God, her smell. She smelled like every fantasy he'd ever had, like home and comfort and blood and woman.

Of course she she had to smell good. He fought a groan that built up at the back of his throat.

He purposely shut his mind down as he took a shuddering breath. She was still asleep in his arms, curled towards him in a way that reminded Law of what he had done.

Did it work? Would she really forget? Would this nightmare really end? Would she lose her powers?

Would she be okay?

For a moment, he cursed his poor choice of commands, and wondered how effective they really would be. The Dark King's letter had said that he had some level of control over her, and that she would be dependent for a short while. What did that even mean, dependent? Law's grip tightened for a moment. His shivering finally stopped, warmed by her body heat.

It didn't matter if she became dependent. She was always dependent on him. He would take care of her.

He'd always take care of her.

His surprise at the strength of that statement was negated as sleep claimed him.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law woke, panicking momentarily until he realized that she was still in his arms. He pulled back and stretched his neck out, cursing himself for falling asleep on the floor of his operating room. He glanced down to see hazel eyes starting back at him. She was studying him with a dullness that was uncharacteristic of the feisty seer.

"Is-ya," Law cleared his parched throat, "Are you awake now?"

She just stared at him. Law sighed. He wanted to let her go so that he could get some water, but he didn't dare. Not until she was responding again. He stood once more, cradling her in his arms as he pushed the connecting door to the infirmary open. There was a sink and plastic cups for getting water, and there Law headed with a glance at the clock on the wall. They had arrived at the tiny sandbar island in the early afternoon. It was now seven in the morning. He wondered how much of that time was spent sleeping. Taking a glance at the girl in his arms, he wondered how long she had been awake.

He set her gently on the counter, moving his hand on her hair to her cheek as he used his other hand to reach over and fill a cup with water. He turned back, holding it to her lips.

"Drink."

She obliged, eyes still dull as she watched him. Law supposed that this was the "dependent" stage. He wished he knew more.

She finished the cup of water, and Law tossed it casually into the trash can before grabbing one for himself. The cool water was soothing to his parched throat, and Law took in two full cups before he glanced back at his guide. No change.

He would stay here, then. His men won't be bothering him. He had commanded them off the ship until he came out, and he was unwilling to share exactly how broken she was at the moment.

 _"I'm done. Eric, I'm coming home."_

He'd broken her. She'd never be fixed.

Law grimaced at his own guilt. Sensations on his hand drew his attention back to the girl on the counter. She was nuzzling his hand, one of hers rubbing it affectionately on the other side in a gesture of comfort.

She was comforting him. Had she… sensed his emotions?

Law pushed back that possibility. No, she'd never been able to do that before. Neither Shakky nor Rayleigh had mentioned that as a possibility. She was supposed to lose powers, not gain them.

What was he doing?

Strangely, he felt a sense of ease wash over him. She was responding to something at least. He turned back to the room, decided his next move. He picked her up, reaching to gently hold her short, blonde hair again as he stepped over to his desk. She sat in his lap as he pulled out a medical textbook that he hadn't read in a while and began to read it, pulling her close to his chest. She nuzzled his neck and wrapped her arms around him.

He stiffened.

Did he… give her the wrong order? When he had ordered her to look at him and only him… was it misinterpreted?

His worries were eased as she simply sat, seeming to bask in the fact that he was there. Even if he didn't want to be, he was comforted by her hold.

His eyes focused on the book as he tried to distract himself from the confusing emotions she was eliciting.

Over the next two hours, he read with her in his lap, held against him like a child. Her eyes watched him for the first hour. During the second hour, she shifted slightly to watch his hand turn the pages. He massaged her scalp absentmindedly as she slowly seemed to wake up. Her eyes were still dull, but now, at least, she was looking somewhere else.

She shifted again, and he looked down at her as she flexed her fingers in front of her face, seemingly surprised that they were there. She looked at her whole body, testing out everything with small movements. He sat back, letting her explore her body for a few minutes before he spoke.

"Is-ya, how do you feel?"

She looked back at him, her eyes still dull, her brow furrowed in confusion. She looked back at her hands, flexing them again. Law sighed.

"Is-ya, can you hear me, yes or no?"

She looked back at him and nodded. Good. She answered a yes or no question. Progress. Law could work with this. His emotions were shoved back where they belonged, and he was left with his clinical self.

"Are you in pain, yes or no?"

She shook her head.

"Are you thirsty?"

She shook her head.

"Are you hungry?"

She paused at this, as if trying to assess herself. She looked unsure, so Law took that as a yes.

Even if he had ordered everyone off the sub, Couri would be downstairs making a breakfast to take outside for his crew. Law hesitated, not sure if she was ready for the next step. This would be the first time he would be letting her go.

He decided to go slowly, releasing her hair first to remove the skin contact, ready to grab it again if he needed to. Her dull eyes never left his. He waited for a reaction, or that sensation of urgency that he'd felt before. But there was nothing other than an emptiness in his own body as the sensation of electricity left him for the first time in over eighteen hours. She shivered, but he held off from grabbing her again.

"Can you stand?"

Her eyes finally left his as she looked down and softly kicked her feet experimentally. She eased herself off of his lap and touched her feet onto the floor, reaching towards his desk to stabilize herself. He waited stiffly, ready to catch her if she dropped. Once standing, she seemed to take in the rest of the room, her gaze drifting over the entire infirmary before twisting to look back at Law.

Her eyes were still dull.

He stood slowly, walking away while watching for her reaction. She let go of the desk and followed him quietly. He opened the door, and she followed him into the hall. He purposely kept his steps slow and deliberate, keeping his senses focused on her for the slightest reaction. Reaching the stairs, he stopped, holding his hand out to guide her down them, ready to catch her if she fell.

Wait. Why? What the hell was he doing?

He pushed the thoughts away, focusing on the fact that he was a doctor and she was her patient.

He hadn't needed to worry. She saw the steps. She still took the hand he offered as she gingerly stepped down, one stair at a time. At the bottom, he reluctantly released her hand, cursing himself for his own confusing emotions. This was unreasonable.

Was it?

Of course he was worried. She had saved him multiple times now, and he had just ruined her. He had a right to be this focused on her wellbeing. She was crew, damnit.

He took a deep breath outside of the mess hall, schooling his face. He opened the door, glad for a moment that there was no one sitting at the tables. He suspected that a majority of his crew was experiencing hangovers and would not be moving for another few hours. He silently thanked himself for ordering them off the ship.

In the kitchen was Couri, wrapping up large serving plates of sandwiches with plastic wrap. Resting on the counter, wrapped up in plastic and ready for consumption, was a plate of fresh vegetables, a cut up apple, and riceballs. The large and bald man looked up, surprised that someone had entered the room.

"Oh! Captain! I have your breakfast here for you, I was worried when you didn't get dinner yesterday, just let me get you your cof-"

Law cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to ask this, Couri, but we need two plates."

This got Couri's undivided attention. A smile spread across his face as he looked relieved. "She's feeling better then?"

Law almost bit his lip. No, no she wasn't.

Rather than answering, he turned and beckoned the young woman into the room. She walked in, eyes dull as she seemed to take in the room before her eyes landed on Couri.

"Miss Is! I'm so glad you are awake! We've been really worried about you, you know."

Couri was beaming as he immediately got a plate together for her, pulling some sandwiches off the platter before placing it on the counter and turning to grab a mug for Law's usual morning cup of coffee. He clearly hadn't noticed the difference. He had always spoken to her as if she could hear him. Law frowned, turning back to the young woman and watching her reaction.

There was a spark of recognition in her dull eyes. She glanced at Law, almost as if she asked for something. He tilted his head towards the window, indicating where she could go. She stepped forward, reaching the window just as Couri turned around.

"C… Cou…ri."

Law froze. He felt his heart jump for a moment. She was looking at the cook. The cook beamed. "Yes, yes, I'm Couri the cook."

She looked down at the plate of food, and Couri began to notice the difference for the first time.

Is had never grabbed her own plate before. Law crossed his arms and waited, forcing himself to watch and see what she would do.

"Couri." She frowned at the counter, touching the plate with a finger as she seemed to struggle with what she remembered. She glanced up. "You… you're from the North Blue, right?"

Couri's expression was of beguiled shock. "Y-yes. Miss Is, I… I am from the North Blue."

She nodded, almost to herself, before gripping her plate and looking unsure. Her gaze wandered back to Law for assurance. He uncrossed his arms and stepped forward, reaching to touch her hair to comfort her in her confusion.

"Is-ya, go sit down and eat. I need to talk to Couri. Can you start without me?"

She nodded, turning and hesitantly going to take a seat at a table. Law watched her for a moment, unsure if he should leave her for any length of time. He did not see Couri watching his expression, nor did he see the look in his cook's eyes as he recognized the rare flash of emotion across his Captain's face.

Law turned back to Couri, and pointed to the hallway. The man followed him as Law shut the door behind them, leaning against it for a moment. Law was thankful the man hadn't tried to speak as he tried to figure out what to say. He had no idea what to tell the man, or his crew. He was out of his depth.

He schooled his face, crossing his arms and doing the one thing he knew how to do — study Couri. The man was still surprised and concerned, but Law couldn't tell if the concern was about being pulled into the hallway to talk, over the woman's sudden dull clarity or of his Captain's weird behavior. He was fidgeting with his apron, smoothing the creases repeatedly.

As the man shifted from foot to foot, he glanced up at his Captain and asked hesitantly. "Captain… what happened?"

What happened, indeed. Law didn't even know. What was he supposed to say?

Law shook his head. "I don't know. Something has changed. She has changed. I don't know to what extent."

The man nodded solemnly. "Do you want me to watch her for you, Captain?"

Watch her? Law's chest squeezed and his eyes narrowed. Even the separation of the door was starting to worry him. What if she tried to go back again? What if she started to remember while he was gone? Was she okay?

"No."

Couri nodded again. "Yes, Captain. Should I tell the men anything for you?"

Law shook his head. "They are to continue relaxing. We'll eat, and then return to my quarters. She needs rest."

Couri blinked. This considerate behavior of his Captain was out of character. Even without his Captain saying anything, Couri knew something big had happened. Something bad. Something that shook his Captain to the very core.

He would not breathe a word to anyone. He would take this moment to the grave.

He nodded. "Would you like me to bring lunch and dinner up for you, Captain?"

Law nodded stiffly. He turned and opened the door to head back into the mess deck, worried he had been away too long.

She turned in her seat when she heard the door open, but looked neither relieved nor surprised. Her eyes were still glazed over. He walked in, grabbing his plate and mug on his way to the table. Unlike usual he did not sit in his spot. He sat next to her, patting her head to reassure her gently.

"Eat, Is-ya."

She nodded, turning back to her food and eating slowly, as if contemplating every individual bite. Law ate as he continued to brood over her condition, her listless eyes, and her lack of reaction. Did she still see the cracks? Were they gone? Did she still regenerate? Could she still see the shadows and hear the voices?

Would she be okay?

"Captain…"

He swallowed the bite in his mouth quickly, before turning to watch her, observing every twitch of the muscles in her face. "Yes, Is-ya?" She only looked confused.

"I… Did I hit my head? Everything is… fuzzy."

He paused. "What do you remember?"

"I… I don't know. I remember… I don't…" Alarmed, she clutched her head. "I don't remember, but I do, I-I…" She started to cry and shake. "What's wrong with me?"

Law pulled her close as she cried, resting his chin on her head as he massaged the back of her neck. "Isabelle, you're okay. You're confused is all." She cried into his shoulder.

Couri watched from the kitchen window, awestruck. His Captain was comforting the girl. He was actually _comforting_ her. Furthermore, he had called her by her full name, without the suffix. Couri immediately felt like an intruder in his own kitchen. He averted his eyes, and swore again to never speak of this to anyone. Both man and woman had seemed to forget his presence, and he wanted to keep it that way. He continued his tasks quietly, ashamed that he was witness to a tender moment that he was clearly not supposed to. Without a word to the pair, he loaded his items onto the cart and wheeled it out of the room.

He would never forget the look on his Captain's face as he held the weeping and confused woman. Not even if he tried.

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Is spent the rest of the day on Law's couch, curled up next to him as he read a murder mystery novel that he hadn't read before. It was long and complex, perfect to take his mind off of his obsession. He kept a hand on her head, and she went through periods of napping and quietly looking around his office. They left the couch twice to eat, and a few times for bathroom breaks but otherwise stayed put. Very little was said.

With every time that she woke up, her eyes looked a little clearer. She seemed a little more focused, a little more aware. It was encouraging enough that Law forced himself to stop his constant and ridiculous anxiety over what happened to her.

This was stupid. What was done was done and there was nothing Law could do about it now. Either she would be okay or she wouldn't. Law shouldn't feel guilty for doing exactly as he needed to, exactly as he was supposed to. She was _his_ , damnit. Her family was of no concern to Law. Clearly, they had gotten along fine without her, and had even forgotten she existed. He shoved away momentary anger and guilt at the memory of her pounding on the sub wall and screaming for them. There was absolutely no reason he should be glancing over every few minutes to make sure she was okay. There was definitely no reason why he should feel so tortured by her condition. She probably wouldn't even remember he had done anything.

So why?

Every movement, every tiny insignificant twitch, every change in her breathing, every confused tear on her face — everything had Law's immediate attention. He could no longer tell if it was a result of his decidedly unwelcome guilt, or of the fact that in the last thirty-six hours he had barely ever relinquished his hold on her. That electricity between them as he comforted her was as bewitching as it was soothing. He both wanted to both shove her away and never let go.

All in all, Law was agitated.

Emotions were always confusing. It was why he had spent most of his life cutting himself off from them. She had no right to affect him like this.

Then again, she had always affected him like this.

Before, he had assigned Samei to be her caretaker partially because he wanted her to open up to someone else, and partially because he knew the effect she had on him. He didn't want to give it the chance to take hold. But now that it had…

How would he ever let her go?

He finished his murder mystery. It was the gardener, as he had suspected. At least he had gotten that right. He glanced at the clock, knowing how late it was but also doubting he would sleep anytime soon. He still hadn't showered. He felt a little grimy and gross, so even if he was exhausted he knew he couldn't possibly sleep. Unlike the woman curled against his chest, taking another nap as he absentmindedly stroked her hair. He was a little envious, but he supposed it made sense. Her body probably needed the rest.

His body needed rest. He needed sleep, damnit. He sighed heavily.

He also needed a shower. And to change his clothes.

He realized that he had never cleaned the scratches on his skin. He had completely forgotten about them. Luckily, there weren't any on his face, so he doubted Couri had noticed — although he did wonder how she managed to scratch him underneath his clothes.

To be honest, at the time he didn't really care.

He still felt gross.

He placed his book on the arm of the sofa, and grabbed a pillow from next to him. She was probably as gross as he, if not worse, but he didn't want to wake her.

Plus, with the confusing emotions that were returning now that he had finished the book, seeing her naked was the last thing he wanted. He was captivated by the limited skin to skin contact they had had. He didn't want to find out what it would do to him if more skin was involved.

Naked, wet, with jolts of electricity when they touched…

Law shook himself slightly and frowned. They would have to find an inhabited island next. Amazon Lily was towards the beginning of the Grand Line, so they would have to work their way through it again. Which was roughly a few months of travel to a few weeks, depending on whether they chose to travel through the Grand Line again or use one of the many eternal poses they had acquired.

He used his hand to gently lift her head as he moved away from her, placing the pillow underneath her. She stirred slightly, and he stroked her hair gently until she fell back asleep.

He glared at his own hand. He felt like he was suffocating himself with her. He needed a break. A shower would do him good.

Law definitely needed to find a bar with women throwing themselves at him. He had some companionship at Sabaody, but that was weeks ago. He inwardly cursed himself again. He was Trafalgar Law — he was not gentle with anything. He certainly had never stroked someone's hair until they fell back asleep. This was stupid and ridiculous. He needed sex. Hot, passionate, rough sex that would calm him down. Sex was simple. Sex didn't come with waves of confusing emotions, crushing guilt or constant, agonizing distress over someone's condition.

He fought back a fantasy of her in the shower as he held his scalpel to her skin, slicing her open while she moaned-

Fuck. Trafalgar Law stood up and heatedly glared at the woman in front of him as she slept on the couch. He swallowed a growl as he stalked towards his bedroom, opening the door and stripping off his dirty hoodie, throwing his hat onto his bed. Damn this woman. Damn her. She was a fucking mental patient. He concern from her well-being was purely due to their Captain-subordinate relationship and the fact that she was his patient.

Was she warm enough? Maybe he should go back and put a blanket-

Law forced himself to kick off his shoes and pull off his pants. He took out the rag and scalpel that he always kept in his back pocket, putting them on his dresser before taking his dirty clothes and stepping into the bathroom. He pushed the bundle of clothes down the laundry hatch, then turned to take his shower. He would forget about her for a moment. She would be fine until he finished his shower. Looking down, he sighed. She would be fine until he finished his shower and his other… problem.

He turned back and shut the door to his bathroom, making sure he locked it. Last thing he needed was for her to wake up and stumble upon him taking care of himself.

He pushed back the curtain and stepped in to the stream. Sex was fine. He could think about sex. There were a lot of women in the world that he could think about while in the shower. If he was lucky, maybe masturbating would help him sleep. If nothing else, masturbating would take his mind off of the infuriating woman on his couch.

Had she woke up? Would she be okay? What if she need him while he was-

He clenched his jaw and began stroking himself instead, thinking of the red-head he had fucked in the back of a bar at Sabaody. Yes, that was good. Sex. Sex was good. She would not distract him while he was-

How would the electricity feel if they-

No. No. Just no. Back to the red head.

He leaned forward against the wall, forcing himself to think only of that particular encounter. He was lucky that she was particularly fiery, even if she took forever to make orgasm. She had been one of those woman who only orgasm from penetrative sex — a rare breed. So Law had proceeded to fuck the living daylights out of her in every position he could think of without a bed involved. When she did eventually orgasm, it was the kind that sent titanic waves of sensation throughout her system. Naturally, Law continued fucking her even after she orgasmed, forcing her into another. It was then that Law had finally reached his climax as well, a full hour and a half into fucking her.

An unfortunate side effect of devil fruits and being generally powerful meant that sometimes your sexual stamina was just a little high. Law had fucked a number of women into unconsciousness. Even masturbating took time.

Would she scream if he-

Back to the red head. He remembered the bounce of her breasts and the feeling of pounding into her as she desperately fought to keep her voice down. She unfortunately didn't like being bitten as much as Law enjoyed biting. Law liked it rough. If it hadn't been for disease concerns, he would bite every partner until they bled. The color of blood while in throws of sinful indulgence-

Just before he could orgasm, a flash of his seer, her face covered in blood as he bit her shoulder while pounding into her, her expression of sinful pleasure passed into his mind-

And pushed him over the edge.

He shuddered and bit his lip to stifle a groan as he orgasmed hard. He panted, letting the shower wash away his shame for a moment.

God fucking damnit. He couldn't even properly masturbate without her jumping into his mind. She was off limits in more ways than one. This was more than inappropriate. It was just plain wrong.

How long had he been in here? Was she still asleep? Was she crying? What if she needed him?

He bit his lip and began scrubbing hard, using the stinging from the soap and water on the various cuts on his body to distract himself. He forced his mind blank. Masturbating had definitely helped calm the agitation some, and he knew he would sleep soon. Or at least, he hoped so.

Having finally finished, he turned off the stream of water and pulled back the curtain, reaching for the towel and drying himself off. At least he _had_ finished, unlike that time when she had been comatose-

Law sighed as he wrapped the towel around his waist, going for his toothbrush to brush his teeth. As he reached for his, he saw hers. He had found her a spare one after that first day, and that first shower. The day she had protected his crew.

He brushed his teeth as he thought. She had said that she both remembered and didn't. Which could mean anything. What did she remember? Would she figure it out? Was this a period of transition for her or how things would always be? Shakky seemed well-adjusted, but Is had been in that state for over four years…

Would she be okay?

Law suddenly wanted a drink. A strong one.

He finished brushing his teeth and opened the door to his bedroom, pausing as he looked up. Is was leaning against the open doorway between his bedroom and the office, her dull expression taking in his room. She glanced at him, seeming to recognize that he was there, before walking in, lying on the floor, and immediately falling asleep.

Law frowned. Sleeping on the floor was hardly healthy.

But he was angry at her. Well, frustrated with her. Sort of.

So he let her sleep on the floor as he pulled on a pair of pajama pants and hung up his towel to dry. He put his hat on it's stand in the closet, and pulled back the covers of his bed before he hesitated again. Looking over at her, he sighed in defeat, turning to open up his closet and pulling out a white, fluffy blanket with black spots. He covered her quickly, stubbornly resisting the urge to share his bed with her. He turned off the lights and slipped under the covers of his bed.

After an hour of tossing and turning, and constantly looking over at her to make sure she was okay, he finally fell into a fitful sleep.

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As Law blearily blinked awake, he became distinctly aware of something in the corner of his room. He sat up slowly, eying Is standing in the corner as she desperately gripped his scalpel with both hands in a defensive posture. She was panting with sweat beaded on her forehead, clearly panicked. Law pushed himself back and leaned against his headboard as he watched her shake, clearly unaware that he was there.

This meant that the cracks had not disappeared.

It also meant that she had a better grip on reality. Former Is would not have found the scalpel to defend herself.

Shakky had said that she had a two week adjustment period. Since it had only been two days, it was still possible that Is would, at some point, stop seeing the cracks. In the mean time, this meant that she might still have the ability to see the timeline.

"Is-ya, what do you see?"

She flinched at the sound of his voice, eyes wide as she saw him for the first time. She pointed his scalpel at him, glaring and snarling out, "Who are you? Where the fuck am I?"

This was unexpected. Although irritated at her tone, Law was relieved that she was responding more normally. His guilt that had been plaguing him eased slightly as he glared at her, his hand slowly reaching for one of his pillows.

"Is-ya, it is not wise to threaten me."

She snarled out exactly what he could do with his threats. He raised an eyebrow as he considered this new development. She had remembered Couri yesterday.

Then again, she did just go a prolonged period of time without his touch.

"Is-ya, what do you see?"

She scoffed. "What's it matter to you?"

Law shifted, placing his feet on the ground. She tried to push herself further into the corner.

"Stay back, you motherfucker, or I swear to God I'll-"

Law switched the scalpel with the pillow in her grip, before twirling said scalpel in his hand as he leaned back on his other palm. He grinned at her. "That hardly looks dangerous."

She dropped the pillow, putting both hands on the wall behind her and gasping in surprise. "What the fucking shit-"

"Is-ya. I order you to come here."

She glared at him, before realizing that her legs had taken two steps forward. He grinned in amusement as she desperately tried to fight her body's betrayal and swore colorfully. Seeming to give up, when she was close enough to him she swung a fist at his face. Law grabbed it, pulling towards the bed and twisting as he straddled her, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand. She jerked at the skin contact, eyes glazing over for a moment before she swore again. He held the scalpel up to her face, tempted to cut in deep and only stopping because he didn't want to change his sheets yet.

And because he didn't know if she would still heal. But that was secondary.

"Is-ya, this is an order — tell me what you see."

She flinched, hatred burning in her eyes. "I see fucking cracks in the fucking air. Happy now? Ready to put me in the insane asylum?"

He chuckled darkly. "Tell me Is-ya, do you know who I am?"

She froze, before frowning in confusion. "… I… I don't think…" Her eyes went wide. "Oh. Shit."

He was so tempted. Her cheek was right there, underneath his scalpel. How long had it been since he'd seen her bleed?

She went limp for a moment, gazing at him through hazy eyes. "I… don't you have a spotted hat?"

He chuckled again. "Yes, Is-ya. What else do you remember?"

She took in a shaky breathe, before eyes widened in panic and tears started to streak down her face. "I… I-I… I don't know. I don't know."

He paused, watching her break underneath him. The guilt returned full force.

"Is-ya, don't concentrate on it. Just focus on me. Don't look at the cracks."

She shook her head, eyes clenched shut. "I… I see everything… it hurts, it fucking hurts…"

"Open your eyes and look at me, Isabelle."

She opened her eyes again, beginning to sob. "Who… Who am I? Why… I-I see everything."

He needed to get her to focus on him, and only him. She was seeing too much. The skin contact on the wrists wasn't enough. Before, he had used pain to bring her back. But now? Would she still heal if he tried?

Her eyes rolled back as she silently screamed, writhing underneath him and forcing him to make a decision. He started small, just a nick on her chin and watching her skin for its reaction. To his immense relief, it immediately stitched itself back up. She could still regenerate.

She hadn't even noticed. He dug the small blade into her cheek, slicing into part of the bone before ripping all the way to her lips. She stiffened, and he continued cutting her, his sheets be damned.

Fuck he had missed this. He supposed he could have dropped the scalpel and just used skin contact, but this was better. He was more comfortable with this. She shivered as he continued to cut in increasingly more painful ways, whimpering slightly. He continued his administrations until she was limp again underneath him. He paused, admiring his work. Her face and hair was covered in blood, and he leaned forward to press his forehead to hers, fighting his own shivers at the intimate contact.

"Better?"

"… Yeah…"

He breathed in the scent of blood and woman. "Good."

"… Captain?"

"Yes, Is-ya?"

"… Am I… crazy?"

He chuckled as she opened her eyes to gaze at his. "Only a little."

"… Okay."

"Do you remember me now?"

"… Yeah. Although…"

"Yes?"

She glanced down at his body. He was only wearing a pair of black sleep pants. "I have to say, this is a nice view."

He blinked, before he began to laugh uncontrollably as he rolled off of her, lying next to her on his bed, covering his eyes with his arm and clutching his side at the pure absurdity. It was as if a weight lifted off of his shoulders.

She was okay.

"… Captain?"

He breathed, trying to force the laughter to subside. His voice amused, his eyes danced as he peaked at the woman lying next to him.

"Yes, Is-ya?"

"… Can I shower? I feel gross."

He chuckled again, before standing up and reaching into his closet. He pulled out a spare set of sheets, tossing it on the floor next to his bed.

"You can. After me. Clean up your mess first."

She glared. "Ass. We've showered together before."

He grinned back at her, disappearing into the bathroom and locking the door behind him. He called through the door. "Not today, Is-ya."

He had a feeling that he would not be able to keep his hands off of her if they did. He turned and leaned against the door for a second, studying his reflection in the mirror. The smile was soft, the blood on his forehead reminding him of the feeling of her underneath him, covered in blood and struggling. It was too good of an image.

Definitely a good thing they did not shower together. He had a problem to take care of.

As he pulled off his pants, he never lost his smile.

 _She was okay._

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Read and review, plz.


	18. Chapter 18

Hello. I have returned from the dead. Somehow.

Read and review. I like to know ya'll's thoughts. Ask questions and ye shall receive answers - so long as you are a user that I can actually send a PM to. :P

Enjoy.

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It should be noted, somewhere, somehow, that 'frustrated' was not strong enough of a word for how Isabelle was fairing.

She had barely finished pulling off that irritable man's sheets before _things_ began clouding her field of vision. She finished changing the Captain's bed, not caring much for the quality of the job, before sitting down on the floor next to it and giving in to the… what, visions?

She knew they were real. Well, real and not real. They had happened or would happen at some point, but it was impossible to tell which was which.

No, that's not quite right. She could tell. Kinda. Sometimes.

Her mouth drooled a little bit. The feast was looking really good. She breathed in, a small smile on her face as she smelled the barbecue kebobs as they roasted over the fire. Someone had some damn good marinating skills.

… Where was she?

Right. Ship. Yellow sub. Special man.

She glared, feeling an unreasonable level of hatred for her Captain. What was so fucking special about him, anyway? He was powerful, yes, but Straw Hat was just as powerful. The red-headed guy with the scars on his eye was several times more powerful. Even that black haired, greasy man could beat Trafalgar Law. But at least half of the visions (Visions? Is that even the right word?) contained him. She knew absolutely everything about him. She froze, her glare fading to a look of pity. He had a terrible childhood, one that made Isabelle want to hold the screaming child and never let go. The poor thing. Nothing should be — shit, did he just die? Yep. No, wait, just injured. Aaaannnnd there goes the arm.

Wait. Who was he?

Right. Special guy. Trafalgar Law of the Heart Pirates… right? Was that a bear? Oh yeah, Bepo. First mate. Minkman from the… Wow. Elephant. Big elephant.

Fuck, this was irritating. She pulled her hair as she fought the urge to scream. There were times when she felt like the information just _clicked_ and she knew _everything_ and fucking of holy hells that hurt but at least she knew — and it was gone. Right? She had just been thinking of something. She knew she had forgotten something. Isabelle felt as if she was dreaming, while somehow awake, knowing that it was a dream. And the dream kept changing with no rhyme nor reason to it. And every now and again, she'd half wake and completely forget she had been dreaming, only to go back to fucking dreamland again.

… Was her name really Isabelle? Or was it something else? Eh, Isabelle seemed like a good enough name for now. Is. Isabelle. Is-ya. She frowned again, hands falling to her lap.

She could still see the room she was in, but the details of the room were hazy lines behind the people that walked through. There was Silvers Rayleigh and Straw Hat Luffy talking around a fire. Luffy was eating some meat, and Isabelle shivered from the cold of the snow. Seriously, did that man just never get cold? And then Law just walked straight though Luffy's image, covered in blood with a grin that should have terrified Isabelle. Instead, she was only disappointed that he wasn't the real one. He walked straight through his own closet, before cutting into someone on an operating table — fuck, while the man was still awake — while Rayleigh continued talking to Luffy. And then there was a green-haired guy with a nose ring, standing imposed on top of the Dark King while… well. He was surprisingly well endowed.

Isabelle flinched, gripping her head as she tried to shut her eyes to the visions — sadly, it did not work. Even with her eyes closed she still saw them. Fuck this constant _pain,_ as if she was ripping in half. It seemed to concentrate in her head, but she couldn't tell if that's because she had somehow imagined the pain as she had imagined the smells, or if she really was being ripped apart. No. Her eyes opened with startled realization. No, her soul was being ripped apart. She knew everything now. She had to guide Law. Her split soul was _power_ , power and eternal life that she needed even if the consequences would curse her very—

Who was she? Who was Law? Right. Glowman. Fucking headache.

Earlier, the pain had gotten particularly bad until that glow-man Law started to cut into her. Even though she knew he was cutting into skin and bones, it was almost a relief to have that sensation on her face. As soon as he started, the visions had started to dissipate and the headache had become manageable.

No, headache was a bad word. Body ache? Soul ache? Ah, whatever. She'd forget again in a moment anyway.

Oh right, glow-man. There he was again, in front of her, looking at plans for his submarine. Isabelle almost shook her head at the ridiculousness of the man. How many people fucking _glow_? Isabelle could see quite a few people in her visions, and none of them glowed like the magic man did.

She frowned, rubbing her wrist. What was with the sensations when Law had touched her? She unconsciously bit her lip until it bled as she thought about it. That sensation had been as uncomfortable as it was incredible. It was as if the skin contact, much like him cutting into her skin, anchored her and diminished the constant pain—

Wait. Who was he again?

Right. Law-guy. Oh, look at that, he died. She should probably warn him not to—

… Where the fuck was she? And who was the kid? There was a child in his bed right in front of Isabelle's feet, crying for his mother to come back. Isabelle glanced up into fire and death as people around her were brutalized and beaten to death. That vision was certainly much worse, as people ran through Isabelle's body and the swords sliced through them, spilling their guts into Isabelle's lap.

… But then why did that child in particular wrench her heart?

Isabelle shook her head, trying to shake away tears that had fought their way to the surface. She suddenly felt terrible, as if she herself was _wrong_. It wasn't right to know these things about those people. Everything from sexual preferences (damn, that man was kinky) to their death, she knew _everything —_ Wait. She swore quietly. Her memory was completely blank. Where was she? Right. Sub. Glow-man.

There were several things happen in the room now. There was a fire as a pale child with Law's hat — no wait, child Law — ran while crying. He hid under dead bodies as Isabelle watched, trying ignore the wild sex in the corner. That was entirely inappropriate juxtaposition. Inside the dresser, a red-haired man and a giant man with a ridiculous white… Whitebeard and Shanks drank while discussing Ace's vendetta. This one was different from the others. While child Law was running through the room like a ghost, the dresser acted as a window through which she saw them start fighting—

Wait. She blinked. Nope. Not a clue who any of these people were. Fuck, lots of guns now, all pointed at Isabelle. She didn't flinch as they shot her. She knew that the visions weren't really there. They were happening somewhere else, and if she concentrated hard enough she could see the outlines of what was actually real around her through them. It was a little relieving to know that not everything was burning or dying around her, and that they were dreams that weren't actually able to touch her.

Well. Most of them. She glanced up, and then quickly looked away, wrapping her arms around her knees and drawing them close.

Isabelle tried to remember what it was that so thoroughly terrified her about that particular space. Shadows? No, Shadows was a bad description. Demons? Gods? All Isabelle knew was that if she concentrated too hard on them, they would talk to her. And touch her. She shivered as fear seized her heart. They began to whisper to her, calling her 'cursed.' This didn't ease her fears as she hid her face. She remembered that the Shadows had touched her before, ripping her soul out so that they could use her body. Needless to say, it was much worse than the headache, and then they'd—

She flinched suddenly, looking up, completely distracted. What the hell was that?

Oh. Wow. Tra-guy was a sick bastard. Are bodies even supposed to bend that way? Oh. The snapping noise means no. She nodded in sick fascinated approval. Cool. A part of her wished she could partake, and she smiled excitedly at the idea of—

… What was that again? Oh, right. Don't look at the Shadows. Bad idea.

She shivered again. Bad, bad idea. Anything to get her mind away from the Shadows. They were inching closer now, whispering to her, telling her things that she knew she wasn't—

No. Go away. Isabelle tried to concentrate on the fight going on in front of her instead. That was better than the Dark-Things-That-Have-No-Name—

Sensations in Isabelle's hand drew her attention away from watching the elephant guy versus the cat. She shivered as the electricity calmed her raging headache and began to chase the visions away.

That made her unreasonably angry. She knew that there was no reason to be angry, but she couldn't help it. She had at least _known_ something, but now the knowledge was gone again. Plus, that last vision had been really cool. I mean, how often do you see a cat and a elephant—

Oh. She wanted to scream. Her mind had gone blank.

She looked over at the man who had chased away the visions, ready to hate him for stealing away the only semblance of peace she had found. He was cutting her hand open before reaching in and breaking the bones with his fingers. Fucking glow man. She blinked, leaning closer to watch in fascination.

It was kinda cool. She had forgotten that her body rejected damage. Healed. Whatever. Since when had she done that?

She frowned as she tried to remember who she was. What kind of a person was she? Did she like sweet things or spicy? What kind of books did she read? What was her family like?

Nothing. Damnit. The only thing she remembered was Trafalgar Law.

Law-man had pulled the dirty sheets into his lap to catch the blood as it dripped off her fingers. He looked up from his spot on the floor next her her, and the look on his face was so fucking smug—

Isabelle glared. She didn't know why she hated this man, only that she wanted to wipe his smug face into the dirt. Wait — carpet. Not dirt.

"Oi. Captain. Couldn't you, I don't know, ask for consent?"

How did that make him even smugger? Is smugger a word? This man was the smuggest. Fucking special glowman thinks he's so cool—

"I'm a pirate, Is-ya. Taking what I want, when I want, comes with the job."

Isabelle scoffed. "Right. I bet you were popular in the sandbox."

Could that smirk get any bigger? At least he wasn't wearing that stupid hat-

Oh. Wow. Okay, special hat. Isabelle felt a little bad for internally dissing the hat after knowing the history behind it. But only a little bad, because it was still a stupid looking hat.

"What did you see?"

Isabelle blinked. See? Right. Disappearing visions. She looked around, trying to concentrate on the visions again. Some came back, but nothing really stuck out as important. Well, except for the Shadows. They were whispering again, but the electricity from his touch seemed to both soothe her and keep the Shadows from reaching for her.

Interesting. She'd have to remember that for later. Wait. Fuck.

Back to answering. Isabelle drawled, "I see lots of things, Captain, my Captain. Like the…" She frowned. "Dark-Ones?"

"Shadows?" he supplied.

"Sure. Whatever. They seem to really like you. I think. Shit, now it's gone."

He frowned, pausing after breaking her pinkie finger. "… It's gone?"

She glared at him. "Yes. Gone. Seriously, it's like information comes in and then disappears." She threw her head back and groaned loudly. "Fuck! This is annoying. Seriously though, I think I'll remember if you just fucking stop touching—"

"Not a chance."

"Why not?!"

"The visions. Are they still there?"

She pouted a bit, before answering, "No. They go away when you touch—"

"Good. You should stop looking at them, anyway."

Isabelle raised an eyebrow. She forgot why she shouldn't, only that if she watched them for long enough that she would know _everything_. "You mean, 'Stop being an all-powerful seer'? How does that figure?"

His face turned serious. "You aren't supposed to be an all-powerful seer."

She smirked. "Too late." Then frowned. Was he right? Maybe she shouldn't watch them.

"Why else do you think your memories keeps 'disappearing'?"

Isabelle opened her mouth to retort, and stopped. Fuck. She couldn't argue with that. She glared instead, trying to pull her hand out of his hold. "Well, regardless, that's for me to decide, isn't it?" Why was she arguing with him again? Right. She hated him. She couldn't remember why, but she did.

Shit. Isabelle was beyond frustrated. She just wanted to know who she was. And why this man glowed. And maybe a burrito.

His grip tightened and something flashed across his eyes too quickly for Isabelle to tell what it was. "Is-ya, it is not up for discussion. You need to stop looking at the visions."

She narrowed her eyes at him. What kind of a nickname was that, anyway? "I would if I could, but I can't so I won't. Now give me back my hand."

His turn to smirk again. "No. I'm having fun." He went back to skinning her now healed hand, pulling the skin back and carefully exposing the nerves. The last outlines of the ghosts and windows disappeared, and the knowledge leaked out of her mind again, the endless pain subsiding—

She jerked. "Ow! Hey, that one actually hurt."

He paused, before grinning at her in triumph. Isabelle was convinced that it was impossible for a single person to contain that much pride and smugness in their body. Even his voice was unbearable as he asked, "And?"

Isabelle wanted to punch this man right in his smug mouth. Or kiss it. She wasn't sure. She settled on trying to lightly tug the hand out of his grip again. "Sick, sadistic bastard. It's called _consent_. Even kinky people ask for consent."

He chuckled, turning back to the hand. "Pirate, remember?"

"… Fuck you."

He tilted his head, his smug eyes taking in her face. He looked back down at her hand as he spoke. "You still have blood on your face. It's a good look for you, but you should probably wash it off soon."

Isabelle blinked. Right. Blood. She reached up with her other hand to touch her face, and remembered him cutting her earlier, on the bed, chasing the pain and visions away with his administrations. Just like now. She never thought that suddenly becoming stupid could be a relief. Until—

She felt like there was something important she should tell him. But she couldn't for the life of her figure out what it was. She glanced up, seeing the Shadows as they watched. That was creepy. Well. Creepier than the man who had slowly ripped the nerves out of her hand and was now pinching them to make her flinch. Which was saying something, she supposed.

Then again, what was normal? Did every man do this?

Ah, no. No, just this kinky son-of-a-bitch.

"You really are kinky, Captain. Ow!" He had been particularly rough with the nerve that time.

"Oh?"

"Well, yeah. Most people don't enjoy blood so much."

He hummed in agreement, and Isabelle observed him as he continued to focus on her hand. His hair was still damp from his shower, although she couldn't remember when he had gotten dressed. Why had he even refused to take the shower with her, again? They had done so before. Was he shy? No, that didn't seem right. He was perfectly happy being all half-naked on her earlier. Plus, no one could be that smug and have a body like his and be shy. Well. Unless he was… no, Isabelle highly doubted that after having watched some of his escapades. Or had she?

She continued to watch him, the visions of Shadows finally dissipating and the world just becoming _normal_ again. She sighed contentedly, and stopped trying to fight the smile on her lips as he played with her flesh.

They were gone.

She didn't know who this man was, but his presence comforted Isabelle. Wait, she knew him — Trafalgar Law. Her Captain. Whoever he was, he was special. So long as he was around, she felt safe within her own mind. It was freeing.

She never wanted him to let go.

He finally pulled back the scalpel and went to drop her hand, and Isabelle panicked. "No!" She grabbed his hand as tightly as he had previously held hers. "No, please… I-I… Uh…"

He had clearly been caught off guard for a moment. He didn't release her hand, and that infuriating smile tugged on his lips. "Oh?"

"Uh…"

"… Are you giving me consent, Is-ya?"

She glared. "Sarcastic ass."

"That's 'Captain,' Is-ya."

"Right. _Captain_ sarcastic ass. My bad."

He grinned, clearly amused. "Well? Do you need something?" he asked innocently, even as his eyes danced with mischief.

She lost her glare, and glanced up at where the Shadows had been. If he let go, she knew that they would come back. "Just… Could just keep going? Just for a little bit."

His smile had faded when she had glanced over his shoulder. He seemed to know exactly what she was afraid of, and squeezed her hand gently. "Is-ya, I can't cut you anymore here. We'll stain the carpet."

She eyed the carpet, her anxiety forgotten. "Dude, seriously, why cream, plush carpet? That just doesn't seem like it's easy to clean. Dirt, blood… even semen would be hard to clean off of that. Trust me on that last one." She frowned in confusion at her own words. She didn't know where she had experience with trying to get semen out of carpet, but there was a vague feeling of frustration that came with the words out of her mouth. Like the ghost of a memory that supplied her the words.

She glanced back at her Captain, who had an eyebrow cocked at her. "Oh?"

"… I think. Something like that. I don't remember anything about it."

"… We have a very good carpet cleaner for the first two. As for the third one, I don't have sex on the sub."

"… Seriously? Why? Dude, where do you fuck if not in your own room?"

His eyebrow twitched. "Is-ya, why are you asking about my sex life?"

"Curiosity. I feel like conversations about sex are vastly underrated." She frowned at herself again. Wow. Okay. So she was the type of person with no shame. That explained some things…

His tone held authority as he spoke, "… It is a rule on my ship that no member of the crew is to bring back any kind of companionship on the off chance that it is a spy or bounty-hunter. That is why they have hotels."

Isabelle nodded, humming quietly with her own smug smile. "And storerooms. And alley-ways. And closets. Hmmmm… Oh the places you can have sex…" It wasn't her fault that she had sex on her mind, she reasoned. She had watched at least two pairs do so since he had left to take his shower. Continuing on that tangent, she began to wonder: when was the last time she had sex? She didn't remember ever having sex, but she was pretty sure she had. Maybe.

He sighed before standing, pulling her up with him. "Come on. If I'm going to keep cutting you, it will be over the sink where it will be easy to clean."

"Cool. Do I keep the uniform on, or…"

He stiffened. "Uniform on, Is-ya. I'm only cutting your hand."

She snickered. "Oh come on, we both know how _adventurous_ you are. Are you sure you are fine with just a hand?"

He froze, before slowly turning to glare at her. "… Exactly what did you see, Is-ya?"

She blinked. "Good question. I'm pretty sure everything."

His grip tightened until there was the crack of bone. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that made Isabelle swallow uncomfortably.

"Then start learning how to hold your tongue."

She glared at him, feeling her unexplained hatred return. Her tone was sharp as she spat out, "Right. Hold my tongue. See crazy visions of monsters and death and fire and sex constantly unless you are holding hands with a certain sadistic bastard, but say too much about his sex life and suddenly—"

"Is-ya, I told you, you need to stop looking at the visions."

"It's hardly like I can control it. They come on their own." She turned her head and mumbled under her breath, "Even when my eyes are closed…"

He seemed to pause at the muttered statement, considering her. Then he sighed. "I guess we're stuck holding hands for a while." He held her hand over the sink, stabbing in a particularly brutal pattern. "The crew is on vacation outside right now. After you shower, we have the choice of trying to join them, or staying inside again."

Isabelle blinked. "Again?"

"… Do you remember yesterday? At all?"

She shook her head slowly, trying to remember the previous day. "… No. I think… everything is just… fuzzy…"

Then there came a moment of unexplained clarity, when Isabelle realized that every memory was gone again and she wasn't safe within or in control of her own mind, that she realized how very fucked up she was. Isabelle couldn't have prevented the sudden tears if she had tried. The rush of anxiety and confusion was too overwhelming. She was suddenly terrified of her own mind, and realizing that there was no escape from it.

Except the man in front of her.

"Isabelle, look at me."

There was his hand on her cheek, his gaze level and calm. "Isabelle, you are okay."

Isabelle realized she had been shaking, her breathing shallow and stuttering as the tears ran down her face. She felt immediately pathetic. And trapped.

"Isabelle, listen to me — you are okay. You are safe. We'll take our time. We'll stay inside today. I won't leave you. You aren't alone."

She nodded weakly, holding his hand on her cheek with her free hand as she concentrated on what he was — her shelter.

She didn't know who she was. She didn't know why this man glowed, or why it felt like his touch electrified her skin, or why he was important. In a way, it didn't matter. He was the only thing that mattered in the confusion that was her on mind. He was the only thing that made her soul feel less broken than it was.

If only he could fix it.


	19. Chapter 19

Law finally put down his book on the bed he was resting on, and leaned back against the headboard of his bed. He had finished his book hours ago, but had begun rereading it rather than moving from his spot. In a way, he supposed he was just prolonging the inevitable. He glanced down at the woman asleep next to him.

After the fiasco that morning, Law was unwilling to spend the night without the contact she clearly needed. It was just that… Law didn't sleep with people. It never happened. He always kicked out partners before going to bed. The closest he'd ever come was taking naps on top of Bepo, but that hardly counted. First, Bepo was not of the same species as Law. Second, Bepo was a trusted crew member.

Well. Technically Is was a crew member as well.

This dependent stage was beginning to wear on Law's nerves. The Kuja had been kind enough to stock up their supplies with food, but they couldn't spend much longer hidden away in his bedroom — and their supplies would not last long if she kept up her suddenly increased appetite. He even doubted his party-loving crew was partying at this point. They had a tendency to worry if he didn't check in on them at least once a day, and it had been two full days since he had seen anyone except Couri.

Which brought him back to the young woman asleep in his bed. Law briefly wondered if after two weeks she would really become normal. Like the day before, she spent most of her time sleeping. However, unlike the previous day, she had been lucid for the duration of her brief time awake. Lucid and hungry. She had eaten more in one meal than Law ate in three, and Law was not a light eater.

The brief times that she was awake and not eating, she jumped from one mood to the next without warning. At times she loathed him, speaking in scathing tones with biting insults. After a minute or so, she would turn witty, then flirty, then reflect the same sadistic fascination as he had (mostly in his choice of novel; another murder mystery, this one much more graphic than the last). And the clear masochism when he cut her delighted Law to no end. His only disappointment was the lack of screams—

Law wanted to groan. That was the other thing. He would need a break from her soon. Her increasing normalcy was not helping this unwanted _attraction_ he had for her. He knew himself too well to stay in denial. Before, he could convince himself that it was wrong because she, as she liked to say, "couldn't consent" while in a clearly deranged mental state; not to mention the fact that Law simply preferred partners to be awake and aware. But if she regained her sanity…

Except she was crew, and Law had a feeling that any Captain-Subordinate relationship would create more problems than it was really worth. Well… Captain-Guide. Guide-Guided? Either way, it was not something that Law wanted to pursue. Not logically. Even if half of his crew was participating in similar arrangements, he would not.

Law glared at the woman, and forced a change of subject in his thoughts.

There was also the decision as to where they would go next. Law knew that he should probably take her back to Shakky's at some point in the near future. She was confused on more than just her personality, and Shakky would be the best resource for the woman.

Besides, the next phase of Law's plans included a trip to Marineford. He mentally tallied the number of hearts he had in his collection (ones that he was willing to part with) but the number wasn't round enough. Although 87 was impressive, Law preferred a nice, even number. Which meant having to stop off in a few places, or one place with a lot of pirates. That meant either Tortuga, or Jaya.

There was also a bit of urgency to beefing up his collection, as Law needed to make himself a viable candidate before the military decided to pick someone else. A thought passed through his mind as he tried to think of ways to contact the military about his intentions, but he knew that even if there was, they wouldn't listen. He knew he was on their shit-list after saving Straw Hat. Thus, his need for the gift.

There were currently three openings in the Shichibukai ranks, and Law intended to take one of those spots for himself. There were many reasons for becoming a dog of the government — first, it was hardly a life sentence. Second, it would provide him with a greater breadth of knowledge than he currently had access to even with Isabelle's seeing capabilities (especially since they had always been cryptic, and he had no idea if they would continue). Third was, of course, the fact that then the military and bounty hunters would stop chasing him for a time. The fourth and final reason was that even if Doflamingo found out that he had possession of Is, Law would have the protection of the government at his side. It was something he sorely needed.

He still had heard nothing from any of his informants on Doflamingo looking for her — which struck him as odd. The man had her for four years as a sex slave, had now been without her for multiple weeks. Yet, he wasn't looking for her? Law frowned as he thought. That just didn't fit Doflamingo. The man was shrewd, cunning, and possessive. There had to be more to it.

The young woman shifted in her sleep, interrupting his train of thought. She looked up at him with bleary eyes.

"Oh… Hey, Captain." She yawned and stretched, sitting up slowly. "Is it bedtime yet?"

Law chuckled. "You've been asleep for three hours, and the only thing you can think of is more sleep?"

She nodded tiredly. "Yes, well, sleep is good. A woman needs her beauty sleep and all that."

"Especially in your case."

Her glare made Law's grin widen. "… Go to hell, pretty boy."

"Been there, done that."

She lost her glare again, and Law resented the pity that had replaced it. He fought a growl, and changed the subject instead.

"How do you feel, Is-ya?"

She yawned again. "Tired. I'll try sleeping on the couch this time, instead of the floor—"

"You're sleeping with me, Is-ya." She blinked, before she grinned devilishly in a way that excited Law, even as it made him apprehensive.

"Oh? Sleeping with the Captain? My, my, aren't you forward."

Law scowled before he flicked her forehead. "It's so we don't have a repeat of this morning, stupid." He stood up from the bed and stretched, grabbing his pajama pants. Here he paused, thinking. Since before she had never cared for what she wore, she had previously slept in the crew's uniform. But now that she would be in his bed… He grabbed a second pair of pants and two t-shirts as well. He threw one set over to her as he walked towards his bathroom. "Get dressed in these."

"… Captain?"

He grunted, one hand on the bathroom door as he waited for her to continued.

"… Thank you."

He sighed. "You're crew, Is-ya. Just know that when you are recovered, you'll be in your own bed." With that, he walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind him as he thought.

 _When she was recovered._

She _was_ recovering. When she was, she would be nothing more to him than the rest of the crew. He intended to force distance between them if necessary. As Captain, the continued attraction that he had for her was unacceptable.

… Wasn't it?

He was a pirate. Pirates take what they want, when they want. He had told her that just that morning. Judging by her flirty nature and "pretty boy" remarks, she was attracted to him as well. So… why not?

 _"I'm done. Eric, I'm coming home."_

 _"Huh. He has tattoos on his arm, too. I like to trace them…"_

Law almost swore out loud as he stripped off his clothes. Now he remembered why she was off limits — guilt made for a nasty case of _feelings_. Guilt, and knowing that part of the attraction was that, in some ways, he somehow resembled her… what, husband? Lover?

The anger bubbling up in Law's chest pushed his guilt away. It was irrational, this hatred for the mysterious man. That man was at fault for all of it — making her a mother, for resembling him—

Resembling him.

Parallel universes. Did they have… doppelgängers?

Now that was an interesting question more worthy of Law's attentions. Law continued to ponder it, the anger and guilt subsiding as his mind returned to a more natural, contemplative state. He brushed his teeth and exited the bathroom, questioning the validity of kidnapping your doppelgängers to perform experiments on them to extend your own life as he walked back into the bedroom. Glancing at the bed, she was already under the covers and asleep, her uniform neatly folded on the floor at the foot of the bed. He fought the urge to wake her up and force her to brush her own teeth before they turned in for the night, but Law decided against it. Clearly, the transition was taking it's toll if she needed this much sleep. Instead, Law hit the switch, turning off the lights and crawling into the bed to join her. He laid on his back, using just one hand to grab hers, telling himself just the hand was all the contact she needed.

He had been prepared for his usual tossing and turning for hours. Much to his surprise, he fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law had been right to think that his crew was worried — but he hadn't been expecting _this_.

Law had woken up at a later hour than normal, throwing off his internal clock. What had started with an appropriate amount of distance and a simple handhold somehow turned into his body completely curled around hers. He had woken up to her scent tickling his nose, breathing in the smell of his shampoo, blood, and woman while both arms had wrapped themselves around her body. Even his legs had been traitorous, with one leg entwined with hers.

And yet he had been completely comfortable, well rested, and at-ease.

Damnit, that woman was going to be the death of him.

She had then woken up when he had tried pulling away, not embarrassed in the slightest by their situation. Which had only reminded Law that she'd probably done this many times before with her… Either way, it had left him in an irritable mood.

After they had showered and dressed, Law decided that they would be going outside with the crew, her situation be damned. They needed to leave this island by the end of the day if he was going to have any chance at becoming a Shichibukai.

They exited the sub onto the deck, blinking in the harsh sunlight of the island. Quilo had been on watch on deck, and had given a unnaturally high pitched squeal at the appearance of his Captain — which in turn had woken up the rest of the hungover crew. Who had then jumped on the deck of the sub crowded around their Captain. All of them needed individual assurances that he was okay, and that no, he hadn't decided to give up pirating, no, he wasn't in mourning, and no, he hadn't been depressed that they never said goodbye to Straw Hat (apparently, several had decided that Law and Luffy would make a great couple, much to the Heart Pirate Captain's annoyance). Several ended up shedding tears, and it was nearly half an hour before they calmed down enough to notice Is standing in the doorway of the sub.

Which meant a repeat of the previous half hour, but now with questions aimed about her health directed towards the now irate Captain. Law did not take well to being smothered.

He also did not miss the mischievous glint in her eyes as she watched him grow increasingly frustrated with the crew's antics.

Rather than addressing them individually this time, he called them to attention. The first half hour had given them the chance to regain their sanity, and they immediately fell quiet. Law beckoned Is forward.

"Is-ya has been feeling very ill, but she is now recovering. A bad side effect means that she does not remember anything before yesterday — you are to refrain from asking. Keep a close watch on her condition. Is-ya, reassure them."

The eyes of the crew turned to saucers as Law informed them of her condition. For the first time since they had walked out on deck, the only sounds were that of the waves on the shores of the tiny, sandbar island.

"Um… Hi guys… I'm feeling better, I guess. Captain's kinda right, I remember some things but the memories are a bit… vague. So I remember your names… I think…"

Judging by the stunned appearance of his crew, it seemed that Couri had not told them of her visit to the kitchen two days previous. Mentally, Law thanked the man. Couri had seen more than Law meant him to.

Law folded his arms before addressing the crew, not giving them the chance to smother Isabelle in their affections. He split them up teams: mechanics, cooks, cleaners, and officers. He informed them that they were to depart later that day if possible, which meant clearing up their mess on the beach and a meeting with his officers to decide if Jaya or Tortuga would be the better destination. He assigned Samei to watch Isabelle, giving him strict instructions that he was to bring her to Law immediately if she started acting up.

Law was already wrecked with worry, even if he tried his best not to show it. She had been completely quiet when he gave out orders, simply observing everything around her. He took comfort in the fact that her blank face seemed to be the normal-person kind, her eyes focused as she actively watched things happened around her.

But still, Law was anxious. Before heading inside with the navigation team and his officers, Law pulled off her hat and put his hand on her head, bending slightly to look her in the eye.

"Is-ya?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Will you be okay here while I have my meeting?"

She nodded.

"Good." He removed his hand from her head, straightening his posture with his more characteristic lazy grin as he tried to convince himself she was alright. "Any prophecies for me?"

She grinned. "Always. But nothing interesting, if that's what you mean."

He jerked a thumb to indicate the young man on the deck who was watching the young woman with awestruck eyes. "Samei is here to help you. If you need, he'll bring you to me."

"Hmm…" She tapped a finger on her chin as she looked Samei up and down with a mischievous grin. "Cute shark boy. I wonder if I can make him blush…"

Law flicked her on the nose. "No flirting with the crew, Isabelle."

She pouted. "Aw. Even if it's 'armless and don't go nowhere?"

He raised an eyebrow as he returned the hat to her head, taking a moment to straighten it. "Your fake accent needs work. And since you are the only woman on this ship, it would be better to refrain from flirting."

She looked around. "Yeah, it is kinda a sausage fest in here. But it doesn't seem like most of them… Oh. I see. Well. Never would have taken him for the type."

Law shook his head. "Avoid looking at the visions if you can. I'll be back in an hour or so." He walked away, following the waiting Shachi and Bepo into the meeting room to discuss his plans. As he re-entered the dark sub, he shoved his hands in his jean pockets as he forced himself to concentrate on the matter at hand. Tortuga was farther out of the way, but it was also a little bigger than Jaya. It was also more likely to have pirates with high bounties that could prove a challenge to collect hearts from, a challenge as welcome as it was risky.

… Was an hour too long? Would she be okay? Would she relapse?

Law sighed. At this point, he might as well give up. For better or for worse, he had caught feelings. His only hope was that they would calm down as she continued to improve, and she would remain a close friend much as Bepo was. Even if she was a close friend he wanted to fuck.

Law glanced at Bepo. Why couldn't Bepo have been his guide? Or a man? Then he wouldn't have to deal with wanting to both fuck someone and hold them in his arms—

Law almost stopped as he walked, horrified.

Fuck. He really had caught feelings.

He glared at the floor in front of him. That woman was going to be the death of him. He just knew it.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Samei fidgeted nervously as he watched the woman in front of him. She was gazing after his Captain with a contemplative look on her face, a range of emotions in her eyes that was too confused for him to decipher. He sighed. He'd never been particularly good at deciphering people's emotions. Bodies, on the other hand, were easy.

He took a step forward, and touched her lightly on the shoulder, fully expecting her to go back into her normal, unaware self.

"Okay, Is. We've got cleaning duty, so follow me this way to the gangplank…"

She had focused on him when he touched her arm, and smiled at him as she spoke, "Sure. Just tell me what to do."

Samei wondered for a moment if his Captain had a defibrillator he could spare to restart his heart. "You… you can hear me?"

She frowned. "Uh, yeah. Why? Haven't I always?"

Samei was about to reply, but his Captain's words rang clearly through his head and he quickly shut his mouth with an audible click of his teeth. He cleared his throat awkwardly instead, before trying again. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, meant when you were… uh… sick. Anyway, down this way, to the beach!" With that, he turned around and began to walk down the gangplank, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him.

She would return to normal soon, he was sure. When that happened, he wanted to have her hand to keep her reassured. He wondered if she would be able to hold the garbage bag that Krill handed him as he made it to the beach, or if he would have to juggle the bag, her, and trash duty—

"Um, Samei? Do you want me to hold the bag while you fill it up?"

"… Uhhhhh…" His brain had chosen that moment to stop functioning. At this point, Samei was wondering if a day would ever go by where this woman would not made his normal day abnormal. But there she was, standing in front of him with a furrowed brow, reaching for the garbage bag and slipping her hand out of his decidedly loose grip before reaching down and grabbing the beer bottles that littered the sand. She crouched on the ground, looking up at him as she spoke again.

"Samei, is something wrong?"

What the ever loving fuck?

Samei lost it. He started sputtering a variety of things off that could not be classified as words as he waved his arms around in a ridiculous manner, trying to communicate that she was… Normal. She laughed at him, clutching her sides as she _laughed_ , actually _laughed_. Not a maniacal giggle, but a _laugh_. A real person _laugh_. Samei wondered if maybe he had gone insane, if this was all a dream conjured up by his conversation with his Captain before they reached Sabaody…

"B-b-b-but visions!"

She wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke, "Oh Samei. I see lots of visions. I think. That's what Captain called them." She frowned, looking around from her crouched position on the sand. She began pointing at random spots as she said, "There's an old man over there with a giant elephant, and Captain is over there, and on the waves there's a couple people… well, more than a couple, actually, who are fucking. Lots of visions. Captain wants me to focus on everything else, though, not on the visions. He says they are bad for me. It's kinda hard, though. They are very distracting. Why?"

Samei gulped. He had watched as she had fallen less than a week ago, and had to carry her screaming and writhing into the Freezer. He'd already had several nightmares about the experience, and had missed out on most of the partying due to anxiously worrying over her condition. Based on her last words before she had fallen, he had thought that she was attempting the strangest form of suicide he'd ever seen. And yet, here she was, almost… normal. Without Captain.

He wasn't supposed to ask what had happened. For the first time since he had joined the crew ten months ago, Samei cursed one of his Captain's orders.

"Ah, yeah, no, you just… uh… would have difficulty… uh… _focusing_ before…"

She stared at him, another look of contemplation on her face. "I had… difficulty… focusing… did I? I don't—"

"Anyway!" Samei interrupted loudly, grabbing her hands and making her hold the bag open wide. "Hold this open, nice and wide, yep, let's see how quickly we can clean up the beach, right? Right!"

She blinked at him, nodding slowly. "Sure, Samei."

Is followed Samei around the beach as he picked up more bottles and throwing them into the bag, chatting at her in an attempt to keep her from losing her newfound focus.

"Anyway, we had this big party out her the last two nights, you should have seen it, we had a strip show and everything. Captain would have hated it, he's not really into the whole "party" thing like the rest of us, but yeah, it was great because Shachi actually got so drunk that we managed to dare him to jump into the water and pretend to be a whale, noises and everything! And then of course, several of the guys disappeared into the bushes, and that was really awkward because I mean, this sandbar is like, 50 meters across, so we could totally hear everything, and that was just awkward, you know? But they were happy with it, so I guess whatever floats your boat—"

She jerked the bag out of his reach. "Samei!"

He blinked, holding the greasy wrapper that he had attempted to throw into the bag. "What?"

"That's not recyclable, you should know better."

"… Huh?!" This was different. Recyclable? "What do you mean?"

"… You know, how garbage and recyclables are separated… aren't they?"

Samei shook his head, still plainly confused. "Um, Is-chan, I hate to break this to you, but I have no idea what you are talking about. Everything here is trash."

She held the bag out for him, eyes unfocusing as she muttered quietly, "Everything… trash… no… recycling…"

Samei sighed. Maybe on her home island they separated their trash and… bottles for some reason, and it was reflex for her. Either way, he didn't like the way that she had unfocused. "Is-chan, I'm sure that's how you did it before, you probably just can't remember. But on the boat everything goes into the incinerator and helps power the boilers. It's not great fuel, but it is a good way to get rid of the trash."

She nodded, but she was still distant. Samei cleared his throat and began chatting again. He chattered aimlessly about the weather, more drunken stories that included playing horseshoe with Quilo's dick with some plastic rings he happened to procure from nowhere, and then about different things that they had eaten before he finally got a reaction out of her.

She blinked up at him, a doe-eyed expression on her face. "… Food?"

Samei was not prepared to refute such a sweet expression. He sighed. "… Fine. We'll see if Couri will spare you anything. Have you had breakfast?"

She frowned and shook her head. "No. Captain made me shower and then we came outside."

He reached over, checking the bag she held. It was full, which would give Samei an excuse to drop by the kitchen before heading to the lowest level to give the mechanics the bag of trash. "Alright, come on. We'll check in with Couri and see if we can get him to get you anything."

She nodded, brightening immediately as she carried the large bag back up the steps. Samei yelled over to Krill, on the other side of the island and picking up his share, "Krill! We're dumping this load and getting Is some food."

The man burst out laughing, and Samei turned bright red. "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT, YOU DIRTY FUCKER—"

"Samei," whined Isabelle from the gangplank, "you heard the Captain, I'm not allowed to flirt with you. It's not fair that you get to flirt when I can't reciprocate…" The wink that she gave him as she turned towards the sub reciprocated far more than Samei had given.

"No! No! I didn't—"

"Samei, come on, I'm hungry."

Samei groaned, pulling his hat over his head and stomping up after her, the picture of embarrassment. He ignored the catcalls from Krill on the other side of the beach, and just prayed that he could them to forget about the whole incident. Certainly Quilo and Shachi had had much funnier stories in the last 24 hours.

She waited patiently for him by the door, holding the bag of trash over her shoulder and grinning mockingly as he resigned himself to being teased. He glared at her from behind his blush, before leading her inside and down the stairs towards the mess-deck. He wasn't sure if he preferred her insane or teasing at this point.

He opened the door to the mess-deck, grumbling but holding it open for the young woman and the bag of trash over her shoulder. She practically skipped over the the counter, calling over it for the cook. "Couri! Couri, Captain forgot to feed me and I'm staaaaarving."

Samei almost panicked. Couri hadn't seen her aware like this. The man had no warning, and would probably be as whiplashed as Samei had been—

There was a chuckle from behind the counter. "It's good to see you too, Miss Is. I've got some leftover stew. What size bowl would you like?"

She hummed as she thought, but then lost her smile as she looked back at Samei. "Samei, is it okay to sit down while I eat? I really am hungry."

Samei caved, losing his glare. "… Sure… but eat quickly—"

"Then the large one! Extra large! With extra stew! Please."

Couri chuckled again, moving around behind the counter before placing a bowl and plate on a tray. "Here you are, Miss Is. Extra large bowl with three slices of bread."

The woman squealed, dropping the bag of garbage, grabbing the tray and heading to her usual seat at his Captain's table. Samei managed to pick his jaw up from the floor, and Couri leaned over the counter, calling out, "Samei, come over here."

Samei stepped forward, stunned into silence.

Couri continued, his voice low and whispered, "Captain had to ask for twice the food yesterday as the day before, but I doubt it was for him. Seems she's a hungry young woman. I'll keep an eye on her while she eats if you want to take the bag down."

Samei was sure that there was something intelligent that he should say, or that he should argue since his Captain had ordered Samei to watch her closely. Alas, his brain was overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the last thirty minutes. Instead, Samei nodded mutely, picking up the bag and grunting with the effort. In his daze, he vaguely realized that it was much heavier than she had made it seem. Over at her table, the young woman was wolfing down her food, making happy noises with each bit.

He wandered down the hallway in his daze, down all three flights of stairs to the boiler room, leaving his bag with Minnow, an assistant mechanic, on the bottom deck. He finally shook from his daze, heading back up the stairs two at a time, worried he would be away too long. Fuck, what had he been thinking? If his Captain caught him away from his charge… Samei gulped, hand rubbing his throat reflexively. Luckily, when he returned to the mess-deck, there was no Captain to be found. Instead, Is had been given another large bowl full of apple slices to munch on while they finished cleaning up outside.

"… Couri, isn't this favoritism? I mean, you don't give nearly as much food to any of the rest of us. That has to be, like… five apples there."

Couri continued to chop from behind the counter, calling out, "She's recovering. And it's eight."

Samei shook his head again, feeling like his days would never be normal with the strange woman who followed him back up the stairs to finish cleaning. She munched happily on her apples as he grabbed another bag from Krill (who had the audacity to ask if he enjoyed dropping his load in her, to which she winked), then held the bag with one hand while Samei filled it up. After about ten minutes, he noticed her staring off into space.

"… Is? Is, are you okay?" He worried that this would be the "acting up" his Captain had mentioned.

She hummed lightly, before looking back at him with a soft smile. "Alice is a cute name. She'll grow up to be a doc, just like her dad."

Samei blinked, opening his mouth to speak but only croaking. He cleared his throat to speak again, but his voice still cracked. "A-alice? Like… like her dad? Whose her dad?"

Is just smiled and winked, before shifting the bowl over to the same arm as the garbage bag and munching on another apple slice. She turned to the side, watching something in the distance.

Okay. This was more normal-Is behavior. She just… told his fortune? He… he was going to have a baby girl. Holy shit, he was actually going to be a doctor. He had set out to do exactly that on Law's ship… But he wasn't sure how he was supposed to have a family while being a pirate. Then again, James had managed it for years…

A jingling from Is shaking the bag in front of his face reminded him that he had been standing in shock while he should be cleaning. He continued to think while picking up trash until a blue film appeared over the beach. He jumped a bit as his Captain appeared behind Is on the beach. He put a hand on her shoulder, dismissing his room, and Samei stood quickly to salute him. The man nodded to acknowledge Samei's presence, but otherwise ignored him.

"I see you got food from the kitchen, Is-ya."

She smiled. "Want some? I was hungry."

His Captain hummed in thought before changing the subject. "How do you feel?"

"Hm. Full."

"Visions?"

"Still there. I don't think they're going away in a hurry. I'm doing my best to ignore them as you've asked, Captain."

He shoved his hands into his pockets, staring at her with clinical precision while she munched on her bowl of apples (which was now almost empty). Samei briefly wondered if he should keep cleaning or watch, but neither his Captain nor the seer seemed to care he was there. He decided it'd be best to at least look busy until is Captain asked for his attention. His Captain, meanwhile, removed her hat again and placing his hand on her head.

"How about now?"

She sighed. "You know, you just chased away a really cute one about Samei's daughter."

Samei choked while sliding a few wrappers and cans into the bag that she still held. His Captain paid no attention to his situation. Samei couldn't see his expression, but the sarcasm was evident in his voice. "I apologize for ruining your day. More importantly, Is-ya, we're leaving for Tortuga soon. Did you see anything worth mentioning?"

"First you chase away the visions, then you ask if I saw anything important? Seriously, make up your mind, Captain."

Samei tried to ignore his utter confusion on this conversation. His Captain… Chased away the visions? How? With… with his touch? And they were acting so familiar with each other. His Captain actually cracked a joke, something that Samei had heard him do only once in the last ten months.

Were they…

Samei fought the ridiculous image in his head of his Captain banging the woman after sending everyone off ship, reminding himself that his Captain had said that there was another reason why she responded to him the way she did, and that it had nothing to do with his "charming good looks."

"Is-ya, yes or no?"

She sighed audibly. "No, but I'll let you know if I do, Captain."

He pulled her hat back on her head after purposely roughing up her hair. "Samei, how long until the beach cleaning is finished?"

At the sound of his Captain's voice, Samei had straightened into a salute again, his mind overwhelmed with his morning thus far. His voice cracked as he said, "Sir! Less than an hour, sir!"

His Captain raised an eyebrow. Both of his hands were in his back pockets, and by the grin on his face Samei began to wonder if he was going to cut Samei open. Again. He could feel the blood draining from his face.

"Good. I'm going to check with the other groups now. We may be able to leave much earlier than I thought, so the moment that you are done cleaning out here I want you to report to my office for further instructions. Is that understood?"

Samei nodded weakly. He waited for his Captain to leave him with Is, but instead, his Captain turned back to the woman.

"Is-ya, do you remember the way to my office?"

She yawned before frowning. "Uh, I think so. It's not exactly hard to find, being on the top floor and all…"

"Good. Go there. You should probably rest again."

She held up the bowl. "May I return this first, Captain?"

The man actually chuckled. "Getting more snacks?"

She pouted. "… Maybe…"

He crossed his arms across his chest, before tapping his finger on his chin. The clinical expression was back.

"Do that and then head to the office, Is-ya."

She yawned. "Okay. I ain't tired, though."

"Your accent still needs work."

"It ain't an accent, it's a dialectical difference in speech."

"… Just go." With that Samei's infamous, murderous, sadistic Captain, terror of the North Blue and Supernova with now 400 million beri bounty, simply teleported himself away.

This was by far the strangest day of Samei's life. And it wasn't even lunchtime. He whimpered quietly as she handed him the garbage bag, rubbing her eyes and walking back towards the ship with her now empty bowl.

He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that his Captain could possibly, in any way, have fucked the insane woman on the ship after specifically telling him it was morally wrong to have feelings for her. That didn't stop the images playing in his head as Samei slowly continued to clean the beach in a daze. It wasn't until Krill pinched Samei and pointed out that he was missing spots that Samei finally woke up enough to finish his job before his Captain gutted him. Again.

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Psst.

Wanna know a secret?

...

You read the chapter. And you have an opinion. I can tell.

Drop a review. They fuel creativity. :P


	20. Chapter 20

If you are bothered by any of the scenes in this chapter, I apologize, but you should probably stop reading.

Enjoy!

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It would take them four days to get to Tortuga. Luckily enough, one of the previous ships that they had raided had an eternal pose to the island. At this point, Bepo had a large collection of eternal poses to islands in the Grand Line, all of which would dramatically cut the travel time for what Law intended to do. In fact, Bepo had revealed this extensive collection to Law during the meeting before they left, and Law had almost kissed the bear. He had been worried that this excursion and trip to Marineford would take three weeks or more — fortunately it seemed like it would only take a third of that time.

They would not be stopping for long in Tortuga — in fact, Law intended to only spend two full days there. The time spent would be to allow his crew to let loose like they clearly needed to. Even with the impromptu vacation (of which he had already heard several very interesting stories), the men who were straight were itching for female companionship, Law included. He continued to refuse considering Is as a potential partner. Even those with sexual arrangements on his ship were eager to let loose out on the island and find other partners to indulge with.

Law would use the first day as an opportunity to scope out potential hearts to steal. After a day or two of sating their needs, Law would use the dark morning hours to start stealing hearts. Depending on the quality of hearts available (and how quickly he was caught by said pirates), it would either take one or two mornings to do so.

In the meantime, Law concentrated on his plans during the day and on Isabelle's continued progress. She would sit at his feet while he poured over his notes on his desk, his hand absentmindedly touching her hair either lightly or roughly depending on his mood. She often napped while leaning against his knee, although with each passing day she napped less and less. At night, they slept together, always waking in the same position as before no matter how they fell asleep.

After the first three mornings of this, Law stopped unconsciously avoiding bedtime and began to look forward to it. He realized that so long as she was in his bed, there were no nightmares of blood and fire. Plus, he had increased energy during the day due to actually sleeping reasonable hours. Even if he continued to be plagued by random bouts of guilt during the day, at least at night he was blissfully unaware.

The daytime gave him no such reprieve. He was as comforted by her as he was distraught. He would send her off with Samei, only to grow increasingly anxious until she was within his sights again a few hours later. In an attempt to control his feelings, he stopped cutting her for a few days to see if it would decrease his addiction. Just as before, there was no regaining any semblance of control over himself. Instead, he did discover an immediately decrease in her appetite, which only continued to feed his hypothesis to Shakky about her rejecting reality to the point that it affected how reality affected her. This _would_ explain her almost magical ability to heal itself — except that the healing hadn't stopped.

Neither had the visions.

Although they had decreased in ferocity and she continued to work around them, she did not stop seeing visions of people's past and present. She had some confusion telling which was which, or knowing when anything would come to pass. She continued to have issues with information and memories being wiped from her mind, but with each passing day it was less intense than the day before. Law wondered if it was her increasing acceptance, or the fact that she now had actual memories to hold on to.

Her headaches also decreased in frequency, much to Law's relief. He doubted that he would be able to resist cutting into her if she begged him.

Other than that, she rarely seemed bothered by most of the visions. She was sighting the Shadows less and less, which left Law wondering why they were disappearing. There were times that she was almost normal, except for occasional bouts of knowing more than she should in conversation about events she hadn't been a part of and occasionally vaguely referencing something she saw.

Actually, much to his surprise, she was rather tightlipped about specifics on anything. She wouldn't even give him specifics on most of the visions that she saw. He had already caught Yas asking her about Samei's past, to which she had brilliantly told the sniper to go fuck himself. That had earned her the admiration of the subject of their conversation as well as the loyalty of his other crew members.

When she was not with Law, his crew took turns watching her and showing her different part of the ship (purposely stealing her away from the young Samei whether or not he approved). For the most part, they were completely enamored with the sane Is and considered her a little sister that they needed to entertain and include on their pranks. This irritated Law because it meant that if he was starting to get particularly twitchy, he didn't know where she was and would have to go looking for her. Unlike other members of the ship that he would use his powers to teleport over if necessary, Law refused to use his powers on her. He told himself that it was because he was saving it as a punishment for her when she fucked something up later. It certainly had nothing to do with the guilt that would weigh on his chest.

Only Bepo had noticed that something was wrong with his Captain. He had known it had something to do with the suddenly sane seer. Law had managed to keep his cool and collected facade in front of everyone but the bear, who had been kind enough offer to spar with Law before for he blew his top. It was the reprieve that endeared the bear to Law in ways that his crew would never be — Bepo always seemed to know exactly what Law needed in lieu of openly admitting anything.

Everyone was required to work out for two hours five days a week, and specifically train in fighting styles for another hour five days a week. Depending on the person, they would either overlap their trainings and do three hours of training five days a week, or space it out so they did a bit every day. Most of his crew members ended up doing more than his requirements, eager to please their Captain with their progress. Law himself had been training less since the woman had come on board, and he realized that Bepo was right to bring him downstairs to spar in more ways than one. He needed to get stronger if he was going to defeat Doflamingo. Plotting in his room with Is at his side was all well and good, but there was only so much he could do with the information he had.

Of course, information was something that Law did specifically seek. They had spent two days sailing on the surface of the water to catch the News Coo and get news about the world and add to his binders and save on fuel. Law was surprised to see Straw Hat on the front cover of one of the editions, and became convinced that the man was incapable of following simple orders. Ringing the bell at Marineford, although intriguing, was definitely not bedrest. He decided that it was unlikely the man would live long enough to ever be useful to him.

Law split his time between plotting, pouring over information on every known pirate with a bounty, and training to forget his confused emotional state. It was effective in decreasing his agitation a little, and forced him to focus on something other than his future plans.

On the morning of the fourth day, Law had sent Is away with Shachi (as it was Samei's "day off") and immediately went down to the control room to check with Jean Bart on their heading. Jean Bart informed him that they would be reaching Tortuga by mid afternoon, and that the rest of the crew had been informed to begin preparations. Law nodded, confident in the former Captain's ability to lead his ship, then left to spar with Bepo one more time before they arrived. Unlike the last two days, this would be a relatively easy two hour spar, rather than the usual three or four hour fight. Law wanted to leave plenty of energy for tonight — for multiple reasons.

Standing outside of the training hall, he opened the door. This was the biggest room in his submarine for good reason. He expected his crew to keep themselves in top physical condition. The room was surrounded by a wall of full sized mirrors to watch form in both sparing and weight training. On Law's left, the room resembled a dojo. There were multiple sections of flat, wooden floor and circular arenas covered in blue mat, as opposed to the black rubber in the rest of the room to prevent damage in case of dropped equipment. On one of the mats, Krill and Finn were sparring with spears, favored weapons by both young men. Further along the room was an area dedicated to the latest in weightlifting machinery, some being invented by Shachi and Penguin themselves. There were a variety of pulley mechanisms to lift excessively heavy weights (Law had used his powers to add weight to every machine), as well as a row of dumbbells and power racks full of barbells. On the farthest right of the room were several rows separated by see-through metal mesh for throwing weapons practice (after the chicken incident, Shachi and Penguin had refused to let anyone else shoot on their baby, so the men would use long poles to hold targets over the ocean when surfaced to practice shooting).

Next to a squatting rack was a small crowd of his mechanics and their assistants. Shachi, Penguin, Minnow, Byron and Is.

This peaked Law's interest as well as annoyance. He had not expected to see the seer here, and it irritated him that this was where he had come to get away from her only to find that she was, instead, exactly where he didn't want her.

The men were showing her the machines and their strength with the weights, while she gasped at all the right moments and clapped after Minnow deadlifted a particularly heavy set (despite the name, Minnow was very large and muscular brunette man). Law felt an eyebrow twitch, and Bepo immediately saw the issue from across the room. Before the bear could intervene, Law strode forward, taking one of the seer's ears in his grip and pinching with enough force to snap the cartilage.

"Oh, hi Captain."

He somehow managed an even tone even as he contemplated gutting her for interrupting his training time. "Is-ya, what are you doing?"

She blinked, unaffected by the grip on her ear. "Oh. The guys were talking about getting stronger, and since today is Samei's day off they wondered if I wanted to join them during their workout. They said that I should be working out, too, since I'm crew and all."

Law paused, thinking. Although not the intention of his men (they were all clearly trying to use the opportunity to impress her with their feats of strength), Is was probably well enough to fight. He _did_ want to know exactly how strong she was — she had to be strong in order to do exactly what she had done to those men before.

Or had she lost most of those powers in the last week?

Law highly doubted that. Clearly, Shakky's information had been flawed at best. His seer would not remember her past world, but she also did not lose the visions nor her healing abilities. Although technically Shakky never said that she would lose the healing abilities, and had mentioned that the visions might stay.

"… Captain?"

"Hm?" he replied, continuing to mull over the possibilities.

"Uh… am I allowed to?"

Law looked back at the weight that Minnow had just deadlifted. If she had the same strength as the woman who had literally torn men's bodies apart, she would be able to lift it. He tugged her closer, whispering the order in her ear so that his crew wouldn't hear it.

He grinned as he let her go. If she didn't lift it, she may rip muscles in the process, which would be entertaining. If she did manage it, it would shock his crew and provide him with a wealth of information about her abilities.

She glared the barbell as she started forward, while Law crossed his arms over his chest. At this point, Bepo stood next to Law, ears twitching and a look of concern on his fluffy face. Is squatted in front of the barbell, and Law noticed that whether or not she lifted it, she had good lifting form. Which was exceedingly rare. Normally he had to beat it into his men when they first joined the crew.

He briefly hated the fact that even her posture gave him questions that would never be answered.

She grabbed the bar in both hands, breathing evenly, before standing up to lift it up in a straight deadlift.

She managed it. Somehow, she had enough strength to lift it. Law frowned as he listened to the noises underneath the shocked gasps and applause of his overly enthusiastic crew members.

"Drop it and come here, Is-ya."

She dropped it with a loud enough clang to echo through the room, walking back over to him and grumbling. As soon as she reached him, he grabbed her arm and pulled the sleeve back to reveal the damage. Muscles were clearly reconnecting under her skin, revealing exactly how she had clearly done something beyond her actual strength. He grinned, entertained by the spasms underneath his fingers.

"What is it, Captain?" asked Shachi tentatively.

He hummed as he watched, taking his time before answering his mechanic indirectly. "Is-ya."

"Yes, Captain?"

"Did you know that, in general, most people only tap into about 30% of the potential of their muscles during exercise? Their bodies actively attempt to prevent further exertion by sending pain signals to the brain because use of 100% can cause permanent damage."

"… So, basically you're answering Shachi's question by giving me a lecture about why my muscles snapped?"

He chuckled. "Yes, Is-ya. Well, this certainly explains a few things. No offense, but you seem to have problems recognizing pain as most people do."

She spoke in a mocking monotone. "Oh baby, oh baby. All the pain." He snapped her wrist in his grasp for her sass before he continued.

"In other words, you are stronger than most of the members of the crew and can preform amazing feats of strength because there are simply no drawbacks."

"Except for hunger."

He considered her face, which was stubbornly looking at his grip on her wrist and scowling. "Hungry now?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure you've noticed the same pattern as I have since you basically look at me as if I'm your personal lab rat."

He chuckled again. She wasn't always the most observant person, as he had seen her walking into walls just that morning, but she was not unintelligent. "Yes, I have. Since you are here and not hungry, let's see your sparing technique." He looked at his crew members, who had immediately all taken a step back from the pair, fear evident in their eyes. Unfortunately for them, Law was not feeling especially merciful.

"Minnow, you're looking especially pale. Grab a weapon."

The man gulped, before picking up a battle ax off a rack next to an open sparing mat. He took a stance in the middle of the circle, waiting for Is and desperately trying to school his face.

He bent again and whispered the command in her ear. "Is-ya, you are to try to pull the hair tie from his hair using any means necessary without causing him permanent damage. Understood?"

She looked back at Minnow and began giggling maniacally, which only added a twinge of green to the man's face. This only seemed to fuel Isabelle's enjoyment of his predicament. She whispered back to Law before she started forward, "Really? His hair tie? By any means necessary, but yet not?"

Law ignored her as he straightened, looking back at the large man waiting for her on the dojo floor. Krill and Finn had stopped sparring, drinking some water from a sink by the door and watching with amused interest. "Minnow, I suggest you aim to kill."

She joined him in the ring, ignoring the weapons rack that sat at the edge. Law frowned at that, but realized that she had never had a weapon to attack before anyway. After a short standoff, she moved with an uncanny speed to dodge the battle ax as Minnow swung wildly at her, intent on slicing her as his Captain had ordered but clearly also perturbed by the idea. Her speed was no where near the speed of that day with Bepo, but she was definitely faster than an average pirate or marine. Law quickly noticed, however, that speed, strength, and instinct were the only things the woman had going for her. Her fists weren't formed correctly for a solid punch, her stance was wobbly at best, and she actually tripped twice. She finally got the advantage by simply allowing him to slice into her, and using that to pull him forward in his shock so that she could get behind him and pull off the hair tie, which she then held in triumph.

Even if she had no skills to speak up, it was amusing watching her skip up to him while dripping blood from the still fresh ax wound and her ruined uniform. Law shook his head.

"You'll have to clean up the blood, Is-ya."

She scoffed. "You said that I couldn't hurt him."

"Would that have changed anything?"

She thought for a moment. "Probably not. I don't think I know how to fight."

He snorted. "Clearly. That will change, starting today. My men are right, you are crew now, and you should be training with them. Rather than weights, I want you to practice three hours a day, five days a week with technique — I have a feeling that weights will be counterproductive if all you do is snap your muscles off."

She glared. "Captain, I only ripped my muscles off because you ordered me to pick it up."

"Can you feel the difference between lifting to the extent of your muscles for improvement and causing micro tears in the muscles that prevent continued growth?"

She opened her mouth to object, but she quickly closed it and grumbled out a reply that distinctly sounded like "No, Captain" with a series of expletives thrown in.

He grinned. "My point exactly. You'll need a teacher." He looked at the remaining crew members. Shachi made eye contact, so he addressed him. "Shachi, I want you to run out and grab Quilo for me. Tell him that we need his skills for our newest recruit, Captain's orders."

This would be good on multiple levels. Quilo had remained suspicious of the seer, despite trying to hide it between his flamboyant nature. This would give him a chance to get to know the young woman, and Quilo would not got easy on her unlike some of his men. Plus, as official Weapons Master, training was technically under Quilo's jurisdiction.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Is-ya?"

"… Are you gonna spar? You are in sparing clothes."

He chuckled. "Yes. I believe Bepo's been waiting for me." He did a quarter turn to address the mink beside him. "Thank you for waiting, Bepo."

Bepo jumped a little bit before he spoke, "Ah! No, not at all Captain! I got here early… I mean, I'm sorry!"

She smiled until Minnow handed her a mop and bucket with a grin. "Trade ya," he said with a twinkle of mischief in his brown eyes. Clearly he had gotten over gutting the young woman when she was clearly unharmed.

She glared. "I think I'd prefer the hair tie, actually."

"Is-ya." Law used her name as a warning, doubting he would need any more than that.

She huffed, grabbing the mop, tossing Minnow his hair tie and walking over to mop up the blood while muttering darkly under her breath. Law chuckled, amused, before walking over to another circle and stretching to loosen his muscles. Quilo walked in just before Law and Bepo could begin, and Law waved him over. The man watched him with curious eyes hiding his apprehension as Law nodded towards the young woman mopping up her blood.

"Quilo, she won't know if you go through your questions with her like you usually do, and I'd prefer if you didn't ask. I highly recommend giving her tests to figure out her levels with anything, but so far she seems inept at best in terms of technique. Watch the strength — she doesn't feel pain as you or I would, and has already ripped muscles off bone unintentionally."

Quilo smiled and winked at Law. "Yes, Cap. I'll do just that. One to three?"

Law shook his head. "Three to nil. I doubt lifting weights would do her any good."

Quilo curtsied and then turned around to wait for the woman to finish scrubbing the floor. A pair of blades had almost magically appeared in his hands, and he began twirling them as he watched her scrub the floor. Law shook his head, turning back to his own match, intent on focusing as usual even as she lingered on his thoughts.

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Tortuga, unfortunately for Bepo, was a summer island. The landscape was almost entirely a strip of land curled around a bay resembling the letter 'C.' Much like Jaya, it was highly sought after as a place for pirates to spend their money without fear of the military, as the ruler had reached an agreement with the World Government to become a neutral territory where government interference was not welcome. Law had long suspected that this was a combination of a large sum of money delivered on a regular basis and the influence of the Joker — although only the last because nothing illegal seemed to happen anymore without the Joker being involved.

Although half of the establishments were of higher quality, most of the local populace lived in slums. The island was mostly barren of anything besides some rather resilient grasses, so almost all of the economy for the island came from outside trade. The bazaars of the island were famous for having almost anything available for purchase — for the right price. The residents survived mostly on net and dive fishing (seaweed in particular was grown in the bay for consumption), while the higher establishments had trade agreements with dubious companies or pirates for more exotic fruits, vegetables, and meat.

Despite being almost a barren island, the population was large and overbearing. Law highly doubted that this would have been feasible if not for the constant influx of trade from the lawless visitors to the island.

There were very few rules on the island as there was no one there to really enforce it. Despite having a "ruler," the ruler was a figurehead that actually lived on another island and simply took taxes from the people as a profit once a month. He hired mercenaries and would often leave "examples" of those who hadn't paid their dues in the harbor. The only rule that actually stuck was that of strength — if you were strong, you survived and did well. If not, you would occasionally end up dead in a gutter somewhere.

It was rare that anyone in Tortuga who died was turned in for their bounty. It was too difficult to remove the dead body and then head to an island with the marines to turn in the corpse, and that was _if_ you managed to make it to the harbor. If the bounty was high enough, you would have to constantly guard yourself against other eager hunters for your prize. Again, unlike other islands, the military would not come to pick up any body from the area unless it was one of the Four Emperors of the Sea.

All in all, Law liked the city. Plenty of people to kill, maim, and torture with no repercussions. Not that there usually were, but this was a city where he could find anything — including a woman to slice while fucking her.

Oh, Law had been looking forward to that part. He was sure that if he gave into his clear cravings with someone else that he would be able to control the irritating emotional rollercoaster that was his seer.

Law stood out on deck, leaning against the wall of his sub as he gazed out at the fast approaching bay. He had already addressed the crew — half of them would be remaining on the ship tonight, and having their night of debauchery the next night instead. They were to remain in groups three to four strong, and be entirely aware of their surroundings. Officers were responsible for their groups (Shachi and Penguin for mechanics, Bepo for navigation, Quilo for fighters and James for medics).

Not for the first time, Law thanked himself for freeing Jean Bart on Sabaody. Bepo had relished in the fact that he no longer was needed at the helm constantly, and enjoyed his new found freedom. His assistants (Krill and Finn) were great at their jobs, but Bepo had never felt right simply leaving them in charge all the time.

Plus, the addition of a second navigator meant that Jean Bart had willingly taken Bepo's days off and night crew duty, which meant that the ship was even faster than before. Normally, they would anchor the ship at night to prevent emergencies from navigation problems while the Minkman slept. Now, they rarely needed to stop.

The door opened besides Law, and Is poked her head out.

"Uh… Captain? Can I talk to you?"

He nodded stiffly, and she stepped out, shutting the door behind her to give them some privacy. This was interesting — she seemed nervous, and Law was immediately on guard.

"What is it, Is-ya?"

She fidgeted with her sleeves, looking at the ground.

"I… I was just wondering… If I could, uh… Borrow some money…"

Law glared at the young woman, angry that she had made him think something was actually wrong. "Why?"

She fidgeted again, seeming to look everywhere but at him. "Well… Because I'd like to buy a book or two… and some, uh… better shoes and undershirts. And my own shampoo. As much as I don't mind smelling like you, Captain, I think I prefer different shampoo. And the undershirts are because it gets hot on the sub, especially on Summer islands like this one, and it be nice to be able to unbutton the uniform and tie it around my waist like the men."

Law's temper cooled as he considered this. Her choices were logical, reasonable, and clearly thought out. With her continued improvement, she would be moving into her own room soon (Shachi and Penguin had already decided to give her the last available officer room with it's own private bathroom as the only woman on board, and had already begun cleaning it up as a surprise for her, even as Law doubted she would be surprised. They had told him that she was the "Officer of Seeing the Future" to convince him).

"… Why the books?"

She shrugged, and then tapped her temple with her finger. "I have no memories, Captain, besides these last few days. I figured books might be able to tell me something about myself, or at least provide distraction from the visions."

Again. Logical, well thought out. He frowned. The idea of her shopping for something still made him uneasy, although he couldn't figure out why. "Is-ya, have you seen anything about this island? Anything I should know?"

She glared at him, and snapped out, "No, Captain, same as the last twenty fucking times you asked. I already told you, I'd let you know if I did. Well, actually, I take that back — several of the crew members manage to start an orgy. Does that help?"

Law decided to ignore his beating heart at the fire in her eyes, coldly glaring at her instead. "Is-ya, do you want me to lend you money or not?"

She blinked, frowned at herself, then apologized. "I don't know what came over me, Captain. I just… Did you do something to make me mad, before? Because I… I just… Sometimes I hate you. For no reason."

Law's heart almost stopped. He paused, assessing her before carefully wording his answer, trying to ignore the wedge of guilt in his chest, "… I saved your life, and by doing so you lost your memories."

She nodded solemnly, thankfully taking that as an acceptable answer. "Makes sense, I suppose. Sorry, Captain, I'll try to block it. I've been doing pretty well when we are around other crew members."

Stunned, Law stared at her, trying to hold his arms across his chest and not move towards her. She'd been feeling bouts of intense hatred for him… And yet tried to maintain his image in front of his crew members without knowing why she hated him. She had done well enough that even he hadn't noticed beyond what seemed like a normal level of grumpiness.

It was more than he deserved. And he could never tell her why.

"… Thank you, Is-ya," his words were barely audible, but by the smile on her face he knew she'd heard him. He turned back to the bay that they were approaching, lost in thought as he tried to fight the intense surge of emotions she had, once again, brought on. Luckily, she seemed distracted by something and hadn't noticed his melancholy.

He spoke again, his voice carefully even. "I'll send you with Bepo and Minnow. I doubt there are too many good books on this island for a decent price, but there will be soap and shirts. You may get five undershirts, and ten training outfits — you go through uniforms like there's no tomorrow, so it would be best if you wore something else for training, something that can be ruined. I also recommend sunglasses, and trying to hide your eyes when you can."

She nodded, frowning at the sunglasses comment in slight confusion before visibly dismissing the thought. "Shoes, too? These boots are great and all, but…"

He chuckled. "They were Shachi's. After this island we're stopping off at Marineford and then headed to Sabaody where you may have more luck in terms of price and quality for shoes."

She hummed. "I suppose you're right, but I'll try to see if I can find something for a deal. Speaking of which, what's a good price for a shirt?"

Law shook his head. "Bepo and Minnow are more than capable of helping you with prices, Is-ya. This island in particular uses bargaining, so they will overcharge you if you let them."

"… Ah. Best to let the bear do it. Am I staying in the hotel?"

Law chuckled. "Yes, Is-ya, you are staying in the hotel."

"In your room or my own?"

He paused. It had slipped his mind. They hadn't yet spent a night apart, and anxiety started clutching at Law's heart at the idea of her sleeping alone.

"… You'll be in a room next to mine, Is-ya. If you need me, either walk out into the hallway and knock on my door or knock on the wall."

The sudden cheer caught him off guard. "Woot! I get sex!"

The unexpected cheer, words, and their meaning combined caused the scowl on Law's face. "Excuse me?" he managed to sneer out.

She looked back at him, eyes dancing with mischief and a hunger that made Law's stomach do uncomfortable flips, completely unaware of his anger. "Captain, I am forced to watch almost constant porn, which although desensitizing after a while, still causes… uh… _discomfort_. It would probably be best if I didn't fuck the crew, and _you_ are clearly not interested. So, I get my own room, a trip to a bar and the chance to have someone fuck me." She leaned back against the wall next to him, a lopsided grin on her face and her arms behind her head. "Ahhhhh… I can't wait. By the way, you should totes go with the red-head over the blonde. She likes it really rough."

Law turned, grabbing her by the throat, pulling her head back and slamming it into the outer wall of his sub. He was seething with rage that boiled underneath his skin. He managed to hiss out, "You are not to take home any men from the bar, you ignorant woman."

She glared, burning hatred in her eyes as she fought his grip on her neck. He tightened his hold, leaving her unable to breathe.

"Until such time as Quilo states you have a satisfactory level of training under your belt, you are not equipped to handle yourself should things go poorly. You cannot fight as my men can, and you are forbidden from revealing your healing abilities to enemies unless it is the last possible option. Is that understood, Is-ya?"

He released his grip on her throat, watching it reform as she gasped, drawing in breath. She wheezed out, "F-fuck you," the burning in her eyes matching her Captain's for strength.

He repeated with more authority in his voice, "Is that understood, Isabelle?"

She nodded weakly, before spitting out, "Yes, the double standards are really fucking clear, Captain. No fucking for this woman, oh no, because someone might find out I heal."

He calmed his beating heart and forced himself to think. "… Is-ya, do you remember Doflamingo?"

She glared. "Of fucking course I remember who Doflamingo is. If it's in your life, I know it, asshole."

He leaned on the wall over her, meeting her eyes and searching them for the recognition of who Doflamingo had been to her. The only thing that he saw was her hatred for him, forcing his guilt to surface and cooling his own anger.

When he spoke, it was barely a whisper. "Isabelle, do you ever see visions about yourself?"

Her hatred cooled, replaced by a stunned and then contemplative look. She opened her mouth to speak, eyes focusing and unfocusing as she struggled to remember before she finally glared at his chest and shook her head. He reached for her again, tilting her chin to look up into his eyes.

"I rescued you from Doflamingo's ship. You had been his sex slave for four years, Isabelle. He is probably looking for you as we speak. Whatever you may think, your eyes are unique. Your powers are unique. Tortuga is most likely one of his many territories, and he will have eyes everywhere that are looking for you."

As he spoke, she lost her glare, eyes turning wide as she took in Law's words. Her shock was plainly evident on her face, but Law paid no attention. She needed to understand if she was going to obey his orders.

"At the moment, I do not believe that he knows you are on my ship. If he did, it would put my entire crew at danger, as well as yourself. They may be double standards to you, Isabelle, but unless you can recognize danger for yourself as well as you can for me, I will not allow you to take home men from the bar."

She did not nod, but Law could see a look of understanding in her eyes even as the hatred waxed and waned. For a moment, Law struggled with an intense urge to bend down and kiss her. She was close, his body almost pressed against hers—

Memories of her struggling and sobbing resurfaced, and he abruptly let her go, turning to walk forward to lean against the railing on the opposite side of the deck instead. The ship was about to enter into the bay, anyway, and Law heard noises behind the door that signaled the arrival of his crew on deck.

He refused to look at anyone as they exited the sub, chatting excitedly at the fun they were going to have. He refused to acknowledge that although his reasoning had been sound, it was not the source of his anger at her causally wanting to bed strangers from the bar. He refused to acknowledge the strong guilt that plagued him, focusing on identifying every pirate flag that was waving in the air instead.

He refused to acknowledge his emotions, even as they simmered underneath the facade of his trademark lazy grin.

He would take her advice, at least. It seemed another redhead was in his future.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Isabelle casually sipped her piss-poor excuse for a beer, grimacing again at the taste. Clearly, she was not a fan of this kind of beer, but neither was she the kind of person to let it go to waste.

A least, not while her Captain was watching her.

Although at least now he was distracted. He had, as she had suggested, rebuffed the advances of the blonde in favor of the redhead that he was now chatting up at the bar while Isabelle seethed. It wasn't fair.

Then again, life was hardly fair, but that wasn't the point.

Isabelle was _horny_.

The orgy she had seen before asking her Captain for some spending money certainly hadn't helped, as it included several very good looking members of her crew. She had, over the last few days, thought that any sexual relationship with the crew was a disaster waiting to happen. Having heard the irrefutable logic of her Captain, she had a slight change of heart and was trying to decided which of them to jump. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be able to under her Captain's watchful gaze, and they were all too drunk to notice her dilemma.

She leaned back into her spot in the booth and fought a groan as an image of her Captain fucking the redhead at the bar popped into her mind. Luckily, it wasn't a vision — just a memory of the one she'd had on the deck before her Captain had forbidden her from having sex with strangers from the bar. Shachi and Penguin sat on either side of her, clearly much more drunk than she. They had no problem drinking the swill of this bar to excess. Briefly, Is wondered if she should drink more, but decided against it. As curious as she was to find out what kind of a drunk she was, she figured it could wait for another night when they were safely on the ship.

Her mood soured again. She hadn't realized that she had been a… a sex slave. Even in her own mind, the words were hard to get out. Was she a willing participant in this, or… her mind conjured up all of her memories of the feathered bastard in her mind, and as attractive as he was physically she highly doubted it had been consensual. Slavery rarely was. She took another sip of the beer from her mug, wondering if she would have had underlying trauma if she had attempted to take a man back to her—

Isabelle paused, and grinned, glancing at the bar again. Her Captain was completely distracted, and she caught the eye of a young brunette woman who had been fidgeting with the liquor in her hand and glancing over at the group of rowdy Heart pirates. She was tall, with her shoulder length hair loose over her shoulders. The sword at her hip was clearly for more than just deterrent, and she was stubbornly rebuking the advances of a man twice her age with a scowl before glancing back towards the Heart pirates again.

Shachi also caught the glance of the young woman, and watched her immediately glance back at her drink with a blush creeping up her pale face. Shachi's chest began to swell, and the other men joked and egged him on as he clearly began confidently eyeing the lady at the bar.

Is took another sip of her drink, eyes mischievous as she formed her plan. She leaned into Shachi, wrapping an arm around him and shoving her drink into his hand, encouraging him to finish it in one shot, which he promptly did. He slammed the mug back onto the table in front of their crew mates with a satisfied noise, before they broke into a loud song about drinking engineers for the tenth time that night.

The woman at the bar stole another glance at the group, and quickly looked away again. Penguin leaned across Is as she let go of Shachi. Penguin smacked his friend on the arm lightly, before teasing him about the clear interest of the brunette at the bar.

"Shachi, come on, man, go for it!" said Penguin.

"Yeah, man, i's not every day that a girl like _that_ is interested in you're ugly mug, right?" laughed out the deep, slurred voice of Minnow.

The young woman looked uncertainly at the group for a moment, before steeling her features and moving to stand from her seat. She suddenly lost her resolve and became entirely focused on the drink in front of her.

The men continued to egg Shachi on, and Is grinned. She stood suddenly, stretching herself. "Hey, Penguin," she said suddenly. "Wanna make a bet?"

Penguin almost choked on his drink. "What?"

She grinned again. "I bet that woman is gonna leave in the next five minutes, with or without Shachi."

The men all laughed, and one called out, "Not even Shachi works that fast, little lady!"

Penguin shook his head. "Is, it's not fair to bet against you, you see the future. How do I know you didn't see it?"

She bent and flicked his forehead. "I see _things_ , Penguin, not timestamps. 1000 beris she leaves in the next five minutes."

Penguin contemplated this for a moment, before grinning. "You're on. She's barely touched that drink all night."

Isabelle shook his hand, and then spoke to Bepo. "Hey, Bepo, I'm kinda tired, and you look done with your drink. Wanna go back to the inn with me?"

The bear smiled, a look of relief on his face. "Yes, please. Ah! Sorry…"

She grinned, ignoring a few vague and disjointed visions as she walked to the exit with Bepo, comfortable in her silence with the bear.

Within minutes of leaving the bar, despite having stopped the bear to look in almost every shop window (she was highly distractible and had done this almost all afternoon with him and Minnow) they finally walked through the guarded entrance of the inn. Law had agreed to splurge a bit, seeming to prefer security at night over a deal on rooms. Then again, Shachi and Penguin had showed her the giant, walk-in safe disguised as a storage closet on the ship. The man was fucking loaded.

She looked around the foyer, and patted her hips, frowning. "Hey Bepo, how about you go on up, I see an newspaper over their with my name on it, and I need to ask for a new key to my room. I think Captain forgot."

Bepo looked concerned, before apologizing to her. She smiled, and despite his worries she pointed out how many security guards this inn in particular employed in just the lobby.

"I'll be safe enough, Bepo, but I promise to scream really loudly if I need help. You have sensitive ears, you'll hear it."

Bepo nodded, still looking doubtful even as walked away and fought a yawn. Isabelle watched him trudge up the stairs, reaching into the pocket and pulling out Shachi's room key, reading the number. Her room key was in her other pocket, as Shachi had given it to her as soon as she had entered the bar an hour ago.

For a moment, she felt a bit guilty, but then decided that didn't matter. She was too horny to care, and technically she wasn't defying Captain's orders per say.

The brunette from the bar appeared at the entrance of the inn, and Is waved her through when the guards tried to stop her. Isabelle grinned, hands in pockets as the suddenly more confident brunette followed her up the stairs towards Shachi's room.

Maybe she was being overconfident, but she highly doubted this woman was going to try to kill or kidnap her. There was nothing in Isabelle's visions of her that encouraged an image of anything other than a woman who slept with other women, and tried to hide it from her crew. A fellow pirate she may be, but Is doubted she was interested in anything other than her bed for that night.

She used the key to open Shachi's door, not looking directly at the woman behind her. Distance was a good way to keep the woman from noticing her eyes, and the room would be too dark to discern the color. So she was listening to her Captain, it was just… He didn't understand. It was bad enough that she got to watch him fucking random women while he barely glanced her way. Isabelle just wanted to be desired as much as the brunette clearly desired her.

As soon as they stepped in and Is locked the door behind her, she placed the key on a dresser and pulled the other woman's hips towards her, crashing their lips together.

Wonderful, she thought briefly. At least she was apparently attracted to both genders.

She aggressively dominated the kiss, even as the other woman held her jaw and tried to tilt her head back to gain the upper hand. Isabelle almost smirked. They were the same height, with similar musculature, with aggressive tendencies in bed. This was exactly what she needed if she was going to satisfy herself tonight. Hot, aggressive, sex that would take her mind off of her infuriating Captain—

At least the order, as much as it stirred her hatred for the man from the depths of her soul, was well intentioned. In fact, she had noticed that even with his cold dismissals of her and clear disinterest in her flirting, he had been exceedingly… nice. Well, as nice as someone can be when they clearly enjoyed breaking bones and making you bleed.

That image did not help Isabelle's currently raging libido. The other woman took her distraction to press Isabelle into the wall behind them, grinding into her with her hips.

Fuck, this was good. She clearly needed this.

Isabelle reached underneath the brunette's shirt with one hand, unclasping her bra in decidedly practiced movements. Briefly, Isabelle wondered how many woman she had fucked. With her other hand she reached up and pulled the woman's hair as they continued to make out against the wall, grinding on each other desperately and both fighting the moans that played out on their lips from their clear need for each other. The other woman knocked Isabelle's hat to the ground, gripping her short, blonde hair by the back of her neck and reaching to unbutton her uniform. She shivered into Isabelle's mouth, and Isabelle swallowed her moan as she played with the other woman's breasts and tugged on her hair. She broke the kiss, and the other woman panted out "Fuck." Isabelle smirked against her neck before sucking and nipping at the other woman's skin. She continued to moan, now using both of her hands to desperately pull at Isabelle's uniform and somehow managing to slip it off Isabelle's shoulders as Isabelle continued her trail down her chest, before mouthing at the woman's breasts through her clothes.

That earned a started gasp and another shiver from the other woman, whose hands had momentarily stopped trying to pull Isabelle's uniform off. The other woman swore again, quietly, clearly as desperate to keep her voice down as Isabelle was to make her moan again. It wasn't until Isabelle tentatively bit at the woman's breast that she earned a strangled moan from the brunette that sent shivers down Isabelle's own spine.

This only seemed to fuel the brunette's apparent competitive streak, as she reached up and tugged on Isabelle's hair forcefully, crashing their lips together as she reached into Isabelle's uniform and went straight for Isabelle's clit, rubbing it expertly as Isabelle began to struggle with coherent thought, biting her lip to keep herself from moaning loudly at the other woman's ministrations.

Fuck, suddenly she was close, so close, she was almost there. She bucked her hips as the other woman pressed her into the wall, seeming to sense Isabelle's impending orgasm as she pulled her head to the side, nipping Isabelle's shoulder and pulling her hand away just before Isabelle could reach her climax.

Oh, this pissed Isabelle off. She was so fucking ready to orgasm. She hadn't even been able to masturbate properly all week, since her Captain never left her alone. Isabelle actually growled at the other woman, who had the audacity to chuckle against her skin.

Isabelle grumbled through her eager pants, "What happened to the fucking shy girl routine?"

"I was shy until I found out you were interested. Do you know how hard it is to find women who are?" Isabelle at least took great pride in the fact that the other woman's voice sounded as needy as her own. She pushed the other woman off, tugging at her shirt.

"Whatever, clothes off, weapons off, I wanna make you scream."

The other woman chuckled again before stepping back and very slowly slipping off her top and unbuckling the sword at her waist in a sultry manner that made Isabelle's stomach do flips. As soon as the sword was placed against the wall, Isabelle pulled the other woman forward again and began to mouth at her now free bosom, earning herself another startled gasp as she pushed the woman towards the bed.

The other woman managed to pant out, "H-hungry, I see?"

Isabelle didn't look up, her voice muffled against the woman's breasts. "You have no idea."

Besides, Isabelle didn't think that Shachi would be back for another hour or so, but she also had no idea when the man would actually notice that his key was gone. She intended to make the most of it, unbuttoning and quickly pulling down the other woman pants and underwear in one go. She trailed kisses down the woman's stomach, reaching for her clit before the woman tugged on her hair, pressing her now naked body against Isabelle before slowly pushing Isabelle's half off uniform to the ground, mouthing at her bra in a gentle, hungry way that left Isabelle craving for more, more skin, more mouth and certainly more of this woman before her. She was purposely too gentle, too slow even as Isabelle's uniform dropped to pool at her feet and Isabelle kicked off her boots. Isabelle pushed herself forward needily, gripping the woman's hair and pushing her into her chest with a growl that demanded more. The other woman heeded the demand with a smile, unclasping Isabelle's bra with one hand as the other gripped her ass firmly. Her mouth began to tease the very edge of Isabelle's lacy underwear, licking and grazing teeth along the top and sides, anywhere that wasn't—

Oh fuck.

The woman had slipped a finger around her hips, teasing Isabelle's entrance, the other hand rolling her breast and nipple while she mouthed at Isabelle's clit through the cloth. Isabelle's legs turned to jelly, and she thrust her hips forward towards that teasing mouth, not caring that she had clearly lost control of the situation again. This was a battle for dominance that Isabelle was happy to lose, so long as she—

There. The woman finally pushed aside the underwear, fingering her with clearly practiced hands and using her teeth to just barely pull the underwear down enough to lick where Isabelle needed her the most.

"Ah! Ah, fuck—"

Isabelle struggled to remain standing as she felt the climax build again, and bit her lip again to try to keep the noises down and her voice whispered as the other woman began pumping in and out, adding a second finger. Abruptly the other woman stopped, pulling away from Isabelle and leaning back against the bed on her palms. Isabelle followed her, stopping herself with her arms on either side of the surprisingly mischievous brunette as she tried to will the shaking to stop in her legs. As soon as she could, she began swearing at the woman in front of her as she clearly enjoyed the view of the needy blonde.

"Oh, you are so going to fucking get it," growled Isabelle.

They continued to tease each other, neither one relinquishing enough control to allow the other to orgasm until almost thirty minutes later, when they both came at the same time using fingers and mouths in creative ways that left both shuddering messes on Shachi's bed. It took several minutes before Isabelle was able to move again, but she forced herself to when the brunette tried to reach for her discarded clothing.

Isabelle was very horny. A single orgasm, as amazing as it had been, was not enough. She no longer cared if she was caught. For a brief, shinning moment she had not cared about anything other than the other woman's lips and fingers, even as she saw death and blood and fire around her. She intended to use the woman as much as she could, until she no longer saw the visions of her Captain fucking the red-head down the hall.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

As the red-head returned from the bathroom, Law scanned the faces of his crew and frowned. They were howling with laughter, and Is was nowhere to be seen. Law left his barstool, nodachi in hand as he reached over and tapped Penguin on the shoulder.

"Penguin, where is Is-ya?"

"Oh, sorry Captain, she turned in early. She left with Bepo about ten minutes ago."

Law frowned. He'd have to make sure she knew to tell him before disappearing like that, but at least the woman had enough sense to not leave on her own. Besides, the bar was just up the street from the inn. He pushed his anxiety away, turning away from his crew and back towards the buxom woman waiting for him at the bar.

Unlike previous encounters, this woman had been forthcoming when she had approached Law. She had specifically told him that she was looking for it rough, despite her doe-eyed appearance, and that she wanted to bleed. It was almost as if Christmas had come early for Law, and he had asked her how she did with scalpels.

She had only answered with an eager grin and hungry eyes, taking another sip of her drink.

Law decided that if Is was back at the inn, he might as well go back as well in case she needed him. Besides, there was a definite tightening of his pants that needed immediate attention. So he proceeded to steer the red-head back to the inn, up the stairs, and to his room. He left the lights off, leaning against the wall and placing his sword next to him, casually ordering her to strip.

She did so slowly, giving him a show and touching herself provocatively as the weapons and clothing dropped the the floor. The weapons did not surprise Law in the slightest. In this area, he would have been suspicious if she _didn't_ have any.

Law listened to the connecting wall for a moment, but hearing no noise figured that Isabelle would be fine without him for a bit. Knowing how quickly she fell asleep, she was probably out like a light.

This woman in front of him was clearly what he had needed. She was everything Is was, a canvas that Law could decorate in blood and cum all night long. He pulled out the scalpel from his back pocket as she stripped, twirling it in his fingers and grinning lazily at her. She ended the show, taking small steps towards him before kneeling in front of him, eyes never leaving his as she slowly grabbed his hips and mouthed at his crotch.

Law grinned, letting her do what she wanted for now before he made her bleed later. There was distinctive moaning coming from somewhere down the hall that Law could hear through the closed door, and it was decidedly not helping the tightness in his pants. The woman in front of him slowly unbuttoned the jeans, pulling his pants and underwear down slowly before looking at his erection with surprise.

"… Something wrong?" he asked, teasing her with a smirk. She shook her head, eyes glazed over with lust that Law liked as much as her naked and kneeling in front of him.

She bit her lip until it bled as she bent over, pushing his pants to his ankles before gripping his erection firmly in one hand and began to lick at the head teasingly. Law leaned back against the wall, eyes on her as he used his free hand to tug commandingly on her hair, earning him a low moan before she took him into her mouth all the way, slowly inching her way to the base. Law fought his own groan as he held the scalpel to her hair and she shivered in anticipation. Carefully, Law sliced into the skin just at the meeting of her hair and her forehead, relishing in the image of her swallowing his dick while blood trickled down her face from the cut and her chin. Even in the moonlight, the image was clear enough to make his mind go foggy with pure, lustful desire as she reached the base and his cock touched the back of her open throat. She pulled back to repeat the process slowly, but Law was having none of that. He grabbed her the back of her head and pushed back into her, forcing her to choke a little. As he pulled back out, she moaned lowly, clearly enjoying the rough treatment.

Good. Law was not interested in being nice.

He continued to roughly facefuck her, forcing her to choke on his cock as she clearly struggled to breath. He timed his thrusting to make sure that she didn't pass out on him, giving her just enough air that she clearly couldn't think as the blood flowed into her eyes and blinded her temporarily. She clearly enjoyed being used in such a way, seeming to derive as much pleasure from him roughly fucking her mouth as most women did from him giving them oral. He smirked.

Kinky Captain he might be, but clearly this woman was at least his equal.

After a while of enjoying the view, he pulled her up, tossing his hat on the bed, pulling off his trademark sweatshirt and kicking off his pants and shoes. He pushed her roughly into the wall on the opposite side of the room, closer to the nightstand before biting her shoulder hard — not quite hard enough to bleed. Even with his need, he did not dare risk exchanging of body fluids in that manner.

He would not be kissing this woman's mouth tonight.

Instead, he bit her skin and bruised her shoulders as he held her down with one arm, twirling the scalpel in his hands before nicking the skin around her chest to decorate her breasts in blood. She moaned and panted underneath him, and Law fought the image in his head of Isabelle, covered in blood and moaning for him the same way.

With Isabelle, he would have been able to taste her blood. She was clean — he had already tested her for everything he could think of.

He fought the growl, concentrating back on the woman in front of him. Unlike his seer, he had to be careful that she didn't lose too much blood. Corpses were not something that Law enjoyed fucking.

He pulled away, placing the scalpel on the bedside counter before reaching into the drawer and pulling out a condom. The woman was panting, the blood trickling down her face and chest, decorating her breasts enticingly enough to make Law's cock twitch in need. He put the condom on, picking her up by her ass and roughly thrusting into her. She screamed before moaning loudly, reaching up to wipe the blood from her eyes before giving up.

She would be blind until Law decided otherwise. Face cuts had a tendency to bleed uncontrollably unless stitched. Law smirked, biting her neck harshly, one arm wrapped around her waist and gripping her hips with strength to bruise as he slid his fingers around her bloodied chest, using the woman's blood to increase sensations as he rolled and pinched the nipples, using his nails to roughly scratch at her large breasts. She moaned with each new sensation, wiggling and panting and incoherently begging for more.

As soon as she began begging, Law smirked against her neck. He lowly whispered into her ear, telling her how used she looked, and how she was his plaything. He watched, using his skills and observation haki as pulse increased with his words. He told her she was nothing, nothing more than a doll and a toy for Law to use for his own purposes.

The wetness in between her legs told Law exactly what she thought of his words, and he switched to light, gentle, teasing touches as he waited, refusing to thrust in and out of her just yet. Instead, he used his fingers to gently tease her skin, down her stomach, and feather over her clit in such a way that left her gasping.

She began to cry as she begged to be fucked by him, begged for him to use her, begged for him to do more than he was, and Law triumphantly smiled.

She had asked him to make her cry.

"With pleasure."

With that, he used his free hand to grip her hair close to the base of her neck, pulling her towards him as he bit down on her shoulder, sucking on the spot to ensure it would bruise beautifully and began roughly fucking her. The blood from her chest coated his own, her legs wrapped around him as she panted, moaned, and incoherently spoke with each thrust, each moan getting progressively louder as he used her as she so desired. He changed her position, dropping one leg to the ground and bending the other knee to her chest, hitting her g spot with precision. He pulled out briefly, tugging on her hair with enough force to pull some of it out as he grabbed the scalpel again. He continued thrusting, moving to slow, strong movements as he twisted her around, forcing her to face the wall as he carved into her back in intricate swirls before gripping her hips again and slamming into her with enough force to make her scream his name. And she did scream, again and again as Law fucked her against the wall, at some point placing the bloodied scalpel back on the dresser. As she had asked, and as she clearly enjoyed, he never once reached around to pleasure her. He leaned over, the blood from her back causing him to slip against her as he slammed into her hips with a satisfying slap of flesh. After a while, he turned her back around, picking her up again and holding both knees to her chest as he forced himself deeper inside her.

Even as he ignored her need, she orgasmed twice while he continued to fuck her, her walls clenching around his own need with satisfying pressure. He dropped her legs to wrap around his waist again, reaching for her breasts as they stained the wall with her blood.

He would have to thank Is later. This was exactly what he needed. The feel of her blood-soaked breasts as they bounced against his chest, the fact that she was blinded by her own blood and sobbing while he fucked her as roughly as he liked, the bit marks that littered her skin—

As he was about to orgasm, his traitorous mind imagined that it was Isabelle instead of this woman that was in his arms. It was the image of him sucking the blood off of her shoulders while he fucked her, biting her with enough strength to break the skin, and the electricity tingling through his very bones that pushed him over the edge.

He stood there, exhausted, as the woman was trembling around him, the waves of his orgasm continuing to rock his body as he came down from his high. He pulled out of her, unceremoniously dropping her on the ground as he panted from exertion. They had to have been going for a while, even if it was less time than his usual to orgasm. He knew he had at least woken Bepo. Normally, he would have tried to stay opposite of Bepo, but he realized that he had moved towards Bepo's wall and away from Isabelle's.

He had been afraid to wake Is up.

He pulled off the condom as he continued to think, tossing it in the garbage before grabbing a healing slave from his bag. He crouched in front of the dazed woman in front of his wall, admiring his handiwork before using the salve to stop the worst of the bleeding. Even though she hadn't actually lost that much, Law switched to doctor mode to examine her for lasting injuries.

As much fun as she had been, it was decidedly less attractive to fuck a bleeding woman to death.

Contrary to her earlier sobs, her face was touched by a blissful smile, and she giggled, eyes clearly glazed over. Law sighed, pulling away from her and leaving her on the floor so that he could take a shower. He would leave the door open so that he could make sure that she didn't use his seeming lapse in judgement to steal anything.

He felt dirty, in more ways than one. This would be a long shower as he scrubbed off the blood from his skin, suddenly worried about what possible diseases she might have. Those with blood-kinks were usually extremely careful with themselves, often checking with doctors much more often than regular people would. She herself had said she had been tested and was clean just last month, or else he wouldn't have gone as far as he had. Still, Law couldn't shake the feeling from his mind as he recognized it for what it was.

It was those damnable _feelings_. Even if this woman was much his match in a way that no one else had been in years, she wasn't Is. His own mind had proven that fact when it turned traitor on Law earlier.

Maybe he had been too harsh on the seer earlier. Law could only imagine the temptation the woman went through, seeing images of sex all the time. It was a wonder that she _hadn't_ jumped anyone yet.

Soon they would be on Sabaody, and Law would be a Shichibukai, and he could help her find a partner to… to what?

Even the thought of her with another man made Law's blood boil. He sighed as he scrubbed his skin with the hotel soap, meticulously washing the blood from his skin. Clearly distance wasn't working. He was addicted to her.

 _"Huh. He has tattoos on his arm, too. I like to trace them…"_

Even if she was attracted to him because he had tattoos, maybe she just had a thing for tattoos. Maybe he had nothing to do with… whoever the man had been to her.

Maybe.

He swallowed as he attempted to sort through an intense wave of emotions. This was too much. He couldn't understand any of it. He felt like a muddled mess of guilt, attraction, raw desire, anger, and affection.

Why couldn't she have just been a fucking man?


	21. Chapter 21

Quick note:

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Law exited the shower, a towel wrapped around himself as he checked on the woman he had fucked. Surprisingly, the lights were on and she was cleaning up the blood with rubber gloves, alcohol spray, and a large rag. Two more rags were already in the trash with the disposed condom. She turned back to him as he entered with a satisfied smile on her lips. "Nice tattoos, handsome. I'll be out of your way in a bit."

She turned back to the wall, scrubbing as she continued, "That was honestly some of the best sex I've every had. Seriously. If you _ever_ want another round, just let me know. I've left my number on the stand."

Law crossed his arms and leaned against the wall near his sword, appreciating the view. She hadn't bothered with clothes yet. The one advantage to this woman, as opposed to his seer, was the fact that the marks remained after he was done. Even in the dark, he did damn good work.

He really shouldn't say one advantage. At least this woman was cleaning up her mess without sass, without him asking, and she didn't leave him in a messy pile of feelings.

Actually, looking at the view, Law almost regretted the shower. He could certainly go another round, although he doubted the woman could say the same. She stood, finished with the cleaning as she tossed the rag and gloves into the trash. It was clear that her legs were still shaky, and her eyes were glazed over from post orgasmic bliss.

"… Need a shower?"

The woman flashed a grin. "Nah. The blood scares muggers away. I'll clean up when I get home. If I shower I doubt I'd end up leaving, and neither of us want that."

Law nodded, the barest hint of a grin tugging at his lips. He pushed off the wall, grabbing a pair of pants to wear to sleep while she dressed in her own clothes, clearly stiff and wincing in pain. After a moment, she looked at him and pointed to the window. "You think they'd catch me if I go out that way?"

Law shrugged. She hummed in thought, before she made up her mind and opened the door to the hallway, closing it behind her with a quick "Thank you," and wink.

Even if he had been distracted by images of Is, Law wondered if he would call on this woman again. She had been more fun than the usual one night stand. Then again, Law didn't even know her name.

Law grabbed a book to read, turning off the main lights but leaving a bedside lamp on, glancing at the slip of paper with her number and name — Scarlett. Law almost snorted. A redhead named Scarlett who enjoyed fucking while covered in her own blood. How appropriate. He relaxed on the bed, beginning to flip through the pages of the book he was reading and trying to not concentrate on his growing anxiety.

Is hadn't knocked on the door while he'd been in the shower, had she? Or on the wall while he was fucking?

He wanted to groan, and forced himself to focus on the book in front of him. He was going to relax, and enjoy his night in a bed away from the seer. This would be a great transition for them. When they got back to the sub, if all went well, she'd have her own room and Law could squash his muddled feelings of attachment. In the meantime, he'd read his book for an hour or two, and then sleep for a few hours before he began his work.

He had already scoped out possible candidates on the island. There were several names on the island worth a decent enough amount to catch his eye, but not currently anyone near his level of bounty. Most of them had gone to the New World to try their hand at becoming the next Emperor of the Sea. He would start with a few of the collections in the early morning hours, grabbing a few hearts from the bottom of the barrel before getting the bigger ticket items the next morning. Thus, he needed to sleep and wake up at an early hour, which meant that it would be easier if the seer weren't in his bed, anyway.

After realizing he'd read the same page multiple times in a row, he shut the book with an audible snap and decided he would try for an early bedtime. He set the clock to wake him up in a few hours, and then turned off the bedside lamp and tried to will himself to sleep.

It didn't work. Instead, he tossed and turned in the bed, never quite achieving ultimate levels of comfort. Every noise, every creak could be a potential enemy sneaking up on him or his crew. After about an hour, he sat up from his bed with a groan, deciding that if he wasn't going to sleep he might as well get started on his collection. He turned off the alarm, slipped on his shoes and a t-shirt, not bothering with socks or his hat, and grabbed his sword on his way out.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Isabelle couldn't sleep.

After another few rounds with the brunette, she had sent the woman away, stolen Shachi's top blanket (dumping it in her own laundry in her room) and returned his key to the front desk. Somehow, she managed to avoid her Captain and crew mates, and had made it back to her room. She thanked the stars in the sky that the hinges on her door were well oiled — her Captain's senses were too sharp to have missed it otherwise, and even with her clothes on, Is could smell the sex on herself.

Actually, she was quite proud that she had somehow managed everything she had left the bar to do. For the first time, she thanked the visions she was gifted with. She had known Shachi was too drunk and party-focused to return to the inn at a reasonable hour, and her Captain too wrapped up in his own… activities to notice her own.

She sighed. She had managed to find two sets of pajamas while she was out with Bepo, choosing to sleep in basic, black shorts and a tank top rather than full pants like her Captain. Once she was in her own bed with a door that locked on the sub, she had considered just dropping the pajamas all together — especially if it got as hot as it was in the room now.

Technically, she supposed, she _had_ slept. Twice. But glancing over at her clock, they had been short naps rather than the rest she really needed. She rolled over again, groaning. Her fingers twitched and her limbs felt too full of energy for someone who had just had multiple intense orgasms. It just hadn't been enough; she was craving something else that she didn't understand.

She sat up quickly, heart beating fast as the nightmares danced across her eyes, nightmares of blood, fire, and rage. Again, at her feet was the boy again, still crying for the mother that was clearly not coming back.

Is frowned, trying to push away the intense swell of emotion. She drew her knees in close, watching the little boy carefully.

Everything else she could identify in one way or another. But this boy… he continued to be an unidentifiable mystery. Suddenly, a man appeared on the boy's bed, pulling the boy into his lap and calming the tears. The man had intricate arm tattoos that Is almost reached out to touch — unlike her Captain's tribal tattoos, these were colored portraits of the stars and ocean that started at his wrists and weaved their way up before disappearing beneath the man's sleeves. She had never seen anything like it. In fact, it seemed almost impossible with the little she had seen of tattoos in the last few days. Tattoos were basic shapes and solid colors, not intricate paintings that danced across someone's skin.

The man was also crying.

Isabelle caught a sob in her throat before throwing off her covers, standing quickly and almost running away from the scene in front of her. It didn't make sense. These were two unidentified people that had lost a mother and wife, sure — but she saw blood and fire and _genocide_. Nothing else left her with the same grief.

A shower. She needed a shower.

The images followed her to the bathroom as she stripped. She counted slowly, focusing on everything around her and naming objects in the room that were real as she turned on the water and stepped into the stream. It helped a little. The images went fuzzy, and she was able to concentrate on cleaning herself.

To be honest, she still smelled like sex. She had been afraid to wake her Captain before, but she no longer cared so long as the water washed the images away. She mechanically scrubbed the smell off of her skin with a brush, not quite realizing that she was scratching off her skin until it bled. It wasn't until the crimson began to flow down the drain that she stopped. She leaned against the tiled wall, watching the patterns as the blood swirled with the soap and water, dancing on the bottom of the tub. She breathed evenly, allowing herself to be entranced by the vibrant color of red as the visions of the man and his son finally faded.

Then the first sob hit her. She sat in the tub, allowing the stream to wash away everything as the ache in her heart hurt more than any injury she could remember.

She knew that she should have knocked on the adjoining wall. But a surge of hatred as intense as the grief left her a helpless victim to her own emotions. She took the brush and scrubbed on her arm until it bled, continuing to scrub the open wound as the bristles dug into her flesh.

It didn't hurt.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law returned to his room using his powers to teleport himself past the guards, surprised to hear the shower going in the room next to his. He wondered if he should check on Is, but decided he needed his own shower instead. He was covered in blood.

He had managed to collect nine of the thirteen hearts he needed in the last two hours, and placed them on the bathroom counter. Each one had the name carved carefully into the side; not enough to kill the owner, just enough to cause discomfort and be a label. He had been lucky, he supposed. Several of his targets had formed some sort of alliance and were all in the same place. The guards had been easy enough to pick off, which explained the blood. The ones he took hearts from he cut up with his powers and hid the parts in a crate. If he was lucky, they would remain hidden until he left the island — at which point, they were close enough to the dock that he would uses his powers to place the crate on the dock as they left.

The hearts were no good to him if the men died, after all.

He figured he should get some extra hearts just in case a few of them did. This was Tortuga, after all.

After his shower, he pulled on a new pair of pants and collapsed into bed. He had purposely exhausted himself, much as he used to in order to sleep at night. He waited for sleep to finally claim him, satisfied with the work he had accomplished.

The sounds of the shower next door stopped, and Law tried to take comfort in the fact that she did not knock on the adjoining wall. Clearly, she was doing just fine without him.

That thought bothered him more than he cared to admit.

It still took a while, but Law eventually fell into a fitful sleep, exhausted by the unfamiliar emotions that seemed to burn in his very soul.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

A knock sounded at the door, waking Is. She blinked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as her headache raged behind them. For a moment, she wondered if she should pull out her own eyeballs to claw directly at the pain behind them, but the knock sounded again, more insistently this time. She sat up with a groan, pulling up the covers and swinging her legs off the bed before stumbling over to the door. She peered through the peephole, and smiled lightly, opening the door to reveal Samei and a large tray of breakfast.

"Hey! I, uh, thought you might be hungry." The boy blushed at her outfit, as she was clearly not wearing a bra.

She smiled at him, stepping back and gesturing him into the room. He walked in awkwardly as she shut the door, locked it and then walked over to sit on the bed. She patted the spot next to her, and Samei put the tray on the bed, stubbornly looking at the tray rather than the woman in front of him.

Is felt a small flutter in her heart. Unlike with her Captain, being with Samei was easy. The emotions were light and fluffy, easy on her soul without overbearing it. She rubbed her temple as she ate hungrily.

"… Are you okay, Is?"

She paused as she chewed, wondering if she should be truthful or not. At the earnest look in his eyes and the genuine concern in his voice, she shook her head.

"Slept badly," she said simply around the bite of oatmeal in her mouth.

The boy nodded solemnly, looking around slowly as she continued to eat. "Does… it have something to do with Captain?"

Is frowned as she took another bit. Did it?

She stretched her fingers in front of her face, watching them twitch slightly. This feeling of need that had not been satisfied last night, that kept her from sleeping, and the nightmares that woke her… did it have to do with her Captain? It had certainly never happened when in his bed.

She glanced up into the wide, brown eyes of Samei, and smiled at the sincere expression. She swallowed before she spoke, "Just nightmares, is all."

He seemed to accept the answer. "Well… if Captain's ever not available, all you have to do is ask." He sat up straight and puffed out his chest. "I may not look it, but I'm pretty good at chasing nightmares away."

Isabelle giggled, swallowing another bit before she spoke, "Aw, Samei, are you offering to sleep with me?"

He blushed, gulped, and rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, no! No, no, no… Just, uh, how does, uh, Captain chase them away?"

She smiled at him with a too-innocent look. "He sleeps with me."

Is enjoyed Samei's sputtering as she purposely took several large bites of muffin, letting him stew over the shock for a moment. The blush was reaching the roots of his scalp now, and the lighthearted teasing was a gentle reprieve from heaviness of the previous night.

Not as good as sex, but good enough, she supposed.

She spoke again, "Just sleeping, nothing sexual. He's actually quite a gentleman about it — insists on wearing a shirt and everything."

Judging by the disbelieving look on Samei's face, this was not normal Captain behavior. Is frowned, remembering everything she knew about the man. He definitely didn't act like a gentleman around most people unless he wanted something. The teasing, the clear dislike of the situation… the gentle concern in his eyes when he asked her how she was feeling…

It was out of character, she realized with a start.

She ignored the thought and it's implications in favor of asking Samei about how his night went. As she asked, there was a satisfied smile tugging on the corner of his lips that told her everything. She threw a pillow at him, laughing, and teasing him about his choice in partners. He laughed and they gossiped together about the previous night's events as Is continued to eat her breakfast of muffins, oatmeal, fruits and a large glass of milk. Apparently Shachi had never slept in his room because him and Penguin got invited to an orgy. The mechanics unfortunately passed out before they could participate. Their partners (those assigned to them who remained sober) had no such qualms.

When she finished, Samei told her that he had been given some money to help restock the medical supplies — the bazaar in the area was known for having everything, and he wanted to stock up on some of the more rare or unconventional materials that they hadn't gotten the day before. Is agreed, stripping in front of him as he hid his face with a sputtered complaint and a blush. She dressed in a clean uniform of the crew, putting her dirty clothes in her bag. She doubted she would ever get tired of teasing the blush onto the young man's face.

It was still relatively early, and Samei was hesitating at the door, staring at the opposite wall before they left.

"Should we wake Captain? James was supposed to join us, but he's still really hungover. He was purging when I checked on him."

Is thought for a moment, looking at the wall as she thought. She had no bad feelings, no trepidation, and even as she concentrated on the visions nothing suggested that they would be in any danger. She trusted her instincts and flashed a smile at Samei.

"Nah. Besides, I don't think he slept until late. He was… ah… indisposed. And then beheading people."

Samei rose his brows in appreciation before pouting a bit. "Damnit, Captain has all the fun…"

Is laughed. "Don't worry, you have plenty of fun in the future."

He grinned at her. "Really? That reminds me… baby girl, right? What kind of mother are we talking about here?"

Isabelle winked as they stepped into the hallway and locked the door behind them. "Only the best kind."

"Oh come on, Is. Why can't you just tell me something, anything? Maybe a name?"

Isabelle shook her head as they started down the stairs. "It's not like they just appear with names over their heads, you know. Sometimes I know the name and sometimes I don't."

"… Ah… I guess… well, hair color then?"

Isabelle smiled softly. "Samei, I can't tell you. I will say that it will come swiftly and unexpectedly."

He groaned as they exited the inn. "You know, as useful as it is to have you around as a personal danger sniffer, it would be nice if you were a bit less vague."

She punched him lightly on the arm, and he rubbed the spot lightly while keeping an eye on their surroundings. She huffed before she said, "Ain't my fault."

He frowned lightly, confused. "What do you mean?"

Isabelle paused, looking at necklaces in a booth before she answered slowly. "I… I actually don't think I'm physically capable of giving specifics." He tugged lightly on her arm, handing her an apple he had purchased for her and distracting her momentarily from different shops as they continued down the road. She took a bite of the apple, chewing as she tried to word it. "It's like… when I try, I just end up forgetting what I saw."

He watched her carefully, before putting an arm around her shoulders and squeezing gently. She looked up into his smiling face as he said, "I'm sure I'll forgive you, somehow."

She laughed again, and he continued, "You're a lot stronger than I am. I don't think I could deal with what you do and come out sane."

"Technically, I don't think I _am_ sane."

He waved a hand in front of her face dismissively. "Not the point. My point is… I-I think you're great the way you are."

He was blushing again, eyes focusing on their surroundings. Is realized that he was steering her shoulders to keep her from bumping into someone, and felt a surge of gratitude. She leaned into his hold and whispered her thanks with a contented smile.

She was happy. Her Captain may chase away the visions, but this was a different kind of comfort. Samei clearly cared for her deeply, without expecting anything in return. Their relationship the past few days had already developed into a loving, supportive friendship that eased her troubles from her mind as much as her Captain caused them. She frowned lightly, before pushing away a confused mess of emotions that made no sense.

They continued through the bazaar, food appearing in front of her face as she finished whatever she had eaten, his arms steering her from booth to booth. At one point, a pair of sun glasses appeared in front of her face, and he smiled gently at her. She took them with a delighted squeal, realizing that this had been the best day of her life so far. As the glasses tinted the bright area around her, even the violent images that plagued her mind couldn't bring her down.

After a few hours, they began trudging the way back to the inn, Samei's eyes focused on their surroundings and laughing at a ridiculous pun Is had come up with. Something dashed across her view of the street, and she stopped. She watched it as the sadness crept it's way back into her heart.

It was the little boy.

"Here, Is, try this." Samei handed her an ice cream cone, but she didn't take it. She stared at it, breathing hitched as tears started on their own. The sight of the cone had triggered the unexplained grief from the night before. Her eyes were drawn back back to the side as the boy cried on the ground, bullied by other children. Samei faded to the background as he called her, touching her shoulder and trying to call her back to him.

The children were jeering at the boy, telling him his mother abandoned him because he was worthless and stupid. The boy cried, calling them liars even as he clearly believed them.

There was a sudden pain in her skull that brought her back. Colors brightened as the glasses clattered to the ground, and she realized something was on her face. She reached up, touching the wet, sticky substance on her cheek as it dripped down her chin. She pulled back her hand, her eyes slowly focusing on the gooey, pink substance. Something was pressing against her her body, and she put her hands up to touch it.

She frowned, trying to focus in on her surroundings, but finding it hard to. It was too loud. She recognized Samei leaning on her heavily.

"Samei, what are you doing?" She shook the young man gently, trying to wake him. He didn't move, so she gripped his shoulders and tried to gently push him off of her.

"Samei, are you okay? Did you faint?"

Something pressed itself out of her skull, and clattered to the street beneath her feet with a delicate clink. Samei's knees buckled, and she wrapped her arms around his chest, catching him as he fell. His head rolled back.

She was dreaming. She had to be. This was a nightmare.

But it wasn't. This was real. She couldn't see through this.

"Hey… Samei… Samei… Wake up…"

Her voice broke with each word as she fell her her knees, cradling the young man's body. His face was no longer recognizable, his skull having exploded outwards and leaving a chunk of blood, bone, and mashed eye matter.

This wasn't real. It couldn't be. She had seen his family. He had a family. He had a daughter. She had watched him deliver her.

This couldn't be real.

What wasn't left on his face was now coating hers. She realized that the wetness was blood and bits of brain. Vaguely, she realized it had been a high caliber bullet at close range.

It wasn't real, though. It couldn't be.

He had a daughter.

She'd seen it.

She was never wrong. Never.

Vaguely, there were sensations in her body, but she couldn't recognize them. They had to be fake. They weren't real.

If she held him, just continued to hold him, he would pop up with a joke and a blush. Any moment now, his face would be reformed and he would hand her some food and scold her over the blood he now had to clean up. He was always so clean. He would twitch every time she dropped crumbs on the floor. She had even caught him eying her that morning as crumbs from the muffins littered the bed before she cleaned them up.

Yeah, that was it. He was going to pop up.

Any moment now.

Something jerked his body, and her vision went red for a moment. No, no, he couldn't go. If he left… If he left her, then how would he wake up?

So she held tighter with one arm, grabbing the thing that had touch his body with all the strength she could muster until it pulled away.

They would not take him. Samei was hers. Nothing else mattered. If she held him for long enough, he would wake up and it would all be a dream.

See? She was floating. You only float in dreams. She buried her head in what remained of Samei's neck, concentrating on the sole belief that it was a dream, and that it wasn't real.

Nothing was.


	22. Chapter 22

Law heard the news from a small group of mercenaries passing by in the street. He had been watching a bar from an alleyway after tailing a man who had said something relating to Smiles. Law had suspicions that there might even be some available on this island.

"Did you hear?"

"Yeah, some Heart Pirate guy—"

"That chick was freaky though, seriously—"

"—don't believe you, no one fucking does that—"

"—blood everywhere—"

Law froze. He stepped out of the alleyway before reaching out, and grabbing one of the men's arms by the elbow. He turned, swearing and snarling until he saw Law's icy, gray eyes. He tightened his grip as the man paled and began sputtering.

Law's voice was cool and crisp, no louder than it needed to be. "Tell me everything before I carve out your heart where you stand."

After hearing the man's story of the events, he let him go and began to teleport himself through the town, pulling out his transponder snail and alerting the crew. They would meet him at the scene.

He cursed himself. The gathering of pirates with mediocre bounties last night had been part of a bigger operation that ran under Captain Blood, a man with a 100 million beri bounty and brains to boot. Obviously, the man had taken his revenge out on Law's men.

But which one?

The woman was obvious. Is had been involved. Even if she wasn't the only woman wearing the uniform of his crew, she was the only one in the world who could magically heal from bullet wounds to her skull.

There was no doubt in his mind that Doflamingo would know where she was now. But that was not his concern. That was not why he rushed across town, eyes turned to ice in his blinding rage.

Someone had killed a member of his crew.

The street was empty when he had arrived, except for a now dry puddle of blood swirled with melted vanilla ice cream and brain matter. There was a bullet on the ground next to the crimson stain on the cobblestones. A pair of sunglasses lay next to it, the tips just touching the blood.

Law bent, picking up the glasses as members of his crew began arriving.

He turned, mentally counting them off, going through his roster as he tried to identify the now dead member. His grip on the glasses tightened slightly, as more crew members arrived. Even as he went through the roster, he already knew the identity of the deceased.

Samei had Is duty today.

His crew took in the puddle, and in that moment they changed. No longer were they the happy-go-lucky men that drove him crazy. He looked into the eyes of hardened criminals, eyes that reflected the same rage as his own — cold and bloodthirsty.

This was his crew.

There would be time for mourning later. For now, it was time for revenge.

When he spoke, his voice was low, authoritative, and cold.

"Captain Blood has killed one of our own. Show no mercy."

The men nodded, then turned to Quilo. The man had lost his usual flamboyance, and gave orders like a sergeant on a battlefield. His job, as always, had been to collect information. The moment that Law had identified their target, Quilo would supply everything — powers, location, strength, estimated number of targets, and more. His flamboyance had always been a cover. At one point, he had been the deadliest assassin in the North Blue. Too many people mistook flamboyance for ineptitude.

Law slowly closed the glasses and stowed them in his front pocket. Clearly, both Law and Is had been overconfident. His mistake had been in assuming that bottom-barrel rats would leave his crew unharmed after he killed a few of them. Hers had been in leaving the inn with just the two of them.

He had told them to remain in groups of three to four, not two.

Samei had payed the ultimate price for both of them.

His blood would be on both of their hands.

The men had their orders. Quilo describe the layout in great detail, and Law knew that he had originally gotten the information for Law to take the other Captain's heart later that night.

Not now. Captain Blood would live, but only so Law could kill him slowly over the next few days.

With a nod, they moved out. The locals had already disappeared into their homes, and the streets had cleared. They knew a coming war when they saw one.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Captain Blood crouched in front of the cage where they had thrown the strange woman of the Heart Pirates. It had originally been used for animal transport, and the floor still had remains of blood, fur, and feces, with rust coating the bars from repeated exposure to the salt water air of the bay. Although Captain Blood had originally been displeased that his crew had brought this woman back, he was intrigued by their explanation. He had taken his gun and shot it at the woman's head, only to have their stories confirmed as the hole healed itself in front of his eyes. He frowned again, trying to think of what to do with her.

Currently, she was bait. He had called his men back to the warehouse that they were currently stationed in by the docks. It was on the edge of the city, and fairly easy to defend. There were no buildings close enough to hide large groups of enemies to sneak up on him, and their ship was not far away in case of the need for a fast escape.

Trafalgar Law was unlikely to take this sitting down, and his men were prepared to fight. This was a gamble, as the famous Surgeon of Death was not an easy target. But if he was provoked just right, and things went well, Captain Blood would be able to walk away with his head and present it for the title of Shichibukai.

It had been an unfortunate blessing that the other Captain had attacked his business partners. Unfortunate because it definitely lost Blood the influence of their money, and a blessing because now he would kill the famous pirate and earn the status that would keep him set for life.

The woman in the cell clearly couldn't see, hear, or feel him. Her eyes were a strange color that would be worth quite a bit as a brothel girl he supposed. Plus, if she could heal like that, then she could be used even by the roughest clients without being damaged.

Blood grinned. Oh yes, today was shaping up to be a great day for Captain Blood.

The only problem was her stubborn hold on the body in her arms. The bullet had clearly pierced through at close range to cause the kind of damage that it had. She had been practically docile when they carried her here, but the crushed bones of Jeremy's hand said that she was anything but.

It was a conundrum that he would have to save for later. After killing her Captain.

"Captain Blood!"

The man ran at him, his face pale as he shrieked for his Captain. Blood frowned, before a blue film passed through the room.

The man was gone, replaced with the blood-soaked Captain of the Heart Pirates. His eyes were ice as he held his sword to swing at Captain Blood. Blood swore, pulling out his gun and firing off shots with his left hand as he used his right to pull out his sword and block the oncoming swing from the other Captain. He did not expect for the other sword to cut straight through his own. But it did not stop there. There was the strangest sensation as his chest separated from his hips. He tried to shoot again, only for the gun to disappear from his hand. Captain Trafalgar Law aimed it at Blood, and a single thought rang clearly through the man's mind before the shot fired.

He'd made a serious miscalculation.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Even as the man screamed in front of him, it wasn't enough for Law. He had shot the man's hands and feet, dismissing his room and continuing to shoot in places that were not lethal on his body. Just behind the sniveling excuse for a Captain, Law could make out the shape of his seer. She was holding Samei's body, completely unaware of his presence.

He knew without looking that she was rejecting reality again. There was a sense of urgency in his chest again.

This man was to blame.

He ran out of bullets, choosing to step on the man's hand instead, slowly increasing pressure and strength until the bones crushed and blood oozed out from underneath his foot. Outside, Law could hear the screams from this man's crew as they were slaughtered left and right by men just as brutal as Law himself.

He felt a presence behind him, not bothering to glance over his shoulder. Quilo had joined him in the room.

There as a moment of silence between the two men, punctuated only by the screams of the rat underneath Law's foot.

"… Captain, I think she needs you."

Law knew that. Of course she need him. But he couldn't. Not yet.

Even with the sense of urgency, he didn't want to touch her and pull her back. She would break if he did, and Law couldn't be sure that he wouldn't as well.

Samei had been his student, his charge. He had promised to make him a doctor. No one else on the ship was quite as happy to dissect bodies as he was, no one else shared his fascination with blood or ligaments. Samei had been much like Law himself, only with what Law considered to be his best qualities instead of his worst. Samei was much too good-natured.

When he looked up, he would see Samei's dead body, and the woman that shared the weight of the boy's blood on her hands.

He took a breath. He would focus on bringing her back, not the emotions. He steeled himself, closing off the walls of his heart to the world and forcing himself to make clinical observations of the bleeding man underneath his foot. His doctor self would be able to confront her without breaking.

He couldn't break. Not yet. Not in front of his men.

More had joined Quilo. Law heard a few quiet sobs from behind him, recognizing Shachi and Penguin as they quietly mourned the body of the young man in front of them. He turned slightly, peering over his shoulder at his now gathered crew. Most were clearly grieving, but several reflected intense hatred and rage at the man under Law's foot. Law took his foot off, and the man started to whimper quietly. Law stepped around him, and used his powers to break the lock and open the cage door, eyes taking in the body of the deceased medic.

Rigor Mortis had begun to set in, telling Law exactly how long it had been since the young man was killed. His face was unrecognizable. His forehead had exploded out, his eyes a mess of goo, the cartilage of the bridge of his nose peaking out from beneath the shredded skin. His lips were tinged blue. Law crouched slowly, preparing himself as his eyes trailed up the arms that clutched the body of his former student.

Her lips were parted slightly. Her face and hat was coated in blood and just enough carnage that Law pieced together what happened. His face must have exploded onto her. There were bullet holes and blood staining her uniform, confirming the original story as told by the mercenaries. They had tried to kill her, and brought her back to their hideout when she didn't die. He reached forward with his hands, using one to touch her on the cheek and the other her cover her hands as they were locked over Samei's body.

"Is-ya."

Her eyes focused slowly, but she was fighting it.

"Is-ya, you need to let him go."

She shook her head quickly, the panic blazing behind her eyes and her grip tightening. There was a sickening crunch as her grip broke Samei's ribs.

"Is-ya, he's—"

"NO!" She screamed and pushed back, holding his body closer to her and sobbing into the boy's chest. "NO! No, no, he's coming back, h-he's not…"

She broke into sobs again, and Law swallowed the lump in his throat. He reached for her hands again, this time gripping them firmly. She tired to kick him, and he used his knees to sit on her ankles.

"Isabelle, he's dead."

She screamed again, shaking her head as she trembled. "NO! No, he's not! He can't!"

"He's dead, Isabelle. Open you eyes and look. He's dead."

She screamed again before her head snapped up, her denial burning behind her eyes. "He can't! I saw! I saw everything! He meets Veronica next year on an island, and he leaves the crew, becomes a well respected doctor, taking over her father's business, and they have six kids, Captain, six, I saw it all. Alice is the first, she's a baby girl, and she… she…"

Horror replaced denial, and her grip went limp around the body in her lap. She visibly sagged against the bars behind her, eyes filing with tears again. "… no…" This time the protest was weak, whispered as her body trembled beneath Law's hands.

Stunned, he realized the source of her horror. He managed to pry her hands off of the young man's body, pulling it out of her lap as she wailed and emotionally shattered in front of him. He stood slowly, carrying the body and stepping back out of the cage. He kept his face blank as he looked at his sobbing crew. Yas and James stepped forward to take the body from Law's grip, tears and blood streaking both faces.

Krill had started gathering wood for a funeral pyre back at the sub.

Quilo stepped forward, level with his Captain's shoulder and eyeing the cage softly. "I'll take care of her, Cap."

Law studied his Weapons Master, who gave him a weak smile. "She's now my student, after all."

Law just nodded. He would attend to her later.

Not yet. First, he had a duty to the young man who had served him so well.

Even if his crew broke, he needed to stay strong. There could still be enemies about, and he needed to lead them through the funeral rites.

Quilo nodded to the bleeding man on the floor. "What do you want done with him?"

This was the spark of iron that Law needed. He took a hold of it, feeding his rage as an acceptable emotion as Captain. He cloaked himself in the one emotion he could understand.

This was a gift he could give his crew.

Law followed Yas and James outside as the words left his mouth.

"He's all yours."

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

The funeral did not take long. Even as Law waited for the fire to die and the stench of burning flesh to leave the air, it seemed like such a short time until they were taking the chard remains and releasing them in the bay. Almost all of his crew members spoke, sometimes short, sometimes long, about the young Samei. They told each other funny stories of parties, pranks, and his quirks. Each story was meant to reaffirm their friendship, and somehow bring him back to life in their hearts.

It didn't work.

Even if a story managed to bring out a few empty chuckles, the somber atmosphere only came back stronger each time. Each word spoken was an effort to break the mood, but it didn't help that several crew members broke down in the middle of telling their stories.

Law had remained silent throughout the ordeal, before ordering the crew to the ship. Bepo, Yas, James and Minnow would return to the inn to gather their belongings and Law's forgotten hearts. Another team would be in charge of bringing the crate full of body parts to the dock. The Heart Pirates would be departing later that evening, as no one was in the mood to party.

Law had clung to his rage, keeping his head thinking and his heart frozen. It had helped that Quilo and Is did not stay for the funeral pyre. No one blamed them.

Now, Law forced himself away from his ship. He had left the man responsible for Samei's death to his crew to rip apart, and they had spared no mercy. Before the funeral had begun, they had already begun his torture, stringing him up with barbed wire and pulling until the thin metal had ripped through his flesh, cutting down to the bone. What was left of the man was currently soaking in the bay, trapped in a net that kept him from drowning even as the salt water slowly dehydrated his broken limbs and burned through his veins. He would not survive the night.

Now, Law would use the dark hours and what little time remained to finish his collection of hearts. He would use his rage as a weapon, and the port of Tortuga would never challenge him again.

He walked away from his ship, needing this time alone to collect himself before they continued their journey to Marineford. He was the Captain. If he broke in front of his crew, they would lose the little strength they had left. So he stood straight and strong as he walked away, telling them that he would be back in an hour with the last of the hearts that he needed.

The ship had been restocked yesterday. It was ready to leave when he was. And he intended to use this one hour that he had given himself.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law lean against the wall of the alley, staring at the wall as his shoes soaked in the puddle of blood that drenched the alleyway. He was breathing heavily, completely exhausted. He would need a shower when he got back.

His time was up.

He had gathered more hearts than he needed, managing another six that were still salvageable. He originally had more, but in his blinding rage he had crushed them. Now there was a sense of calm over him due to pure exhaustion. He held out a hand and focused as the Room started to grow and shrink under his hand. He willed it out, forcing it to form before it faded and he gave up. Law pushed himself off the wall and started to walk towards the pier, keeping his senses on his surroundings and preventing the inner turmoil from taking root. The exhaustion was weakening his internal defenses.

The hearts continued to beat in his pockets as a false dawn began to grace the sky in the east. He vaguely wondered when so much time had passed.

He reached the sub where Yas and James waited on the deck for him, their weapons drawn and ready for attack. They had pulled out the crate of mixed up body parts already, and had opened it to the screams of those inside.

Law nodded to his men, and they pulled up the gangplank after him. They entered the sub and he followed, closing the door and calling through the pipe to the navigation deck, giving the order to dive. He waited by the door, watching the water rising through the window as he avoided feeling anything. He counted the minutes as they passed by, and waited for the all clear from Jean Bart that they had exited the bay before he released a breath. They had finally left Tortuga. Now it was a six day journey to Marineford.

After some hesitation, he finally turned, walking down the hall towards his office door. Law opened it slowly, scanning the room and spotting Is and Quilo on the couch. Quilo glanced back at him, his face somber. Law only gave him a nod before turning towards his bedroom for his shower. He didn't bother checking on Is. Not yet.

He wasn't ready yet.

He took his time in the shower, too exhausted to think and wanting to avoid confronting the woman outside. He moved mechanically, refusing to feel anything but exhaustion as he finished scrubbing, dried himself off and exited the bathroom, the large towel wrapped around his waist before dressing in just a pair of sleep pants. He paused as he stared at the bed, contemplating his choices. There was no need to leave his room again. He needed his space to grieve properly, away from anyone who would see the weakness in his eyes. Is could grieve with Quilo. She had.

That didn't stop his feet from moving towards the door, away from his bed. He pushed out the door to his office, peering outside.

Quilo had left. Is sat on the floor in front of the bedroom door, her dull eyes telling him everything he need to know. It seemed Quilo had gotten her clean and changed into her new pajamas, but she clearly had not slept. Nor had she stopped weeping. Tears still silently ran down her face, hazel eyes meeting gray with uncertainty and self-loathing.

The grief had not left her face.

There was a moment here, a moment of decision and choice. Law teetered on the edge, knowing that he should walk away and leave her to her grief. His walls were too fragile and his thoughts too cluttered to properly distance himself as he should. He needed space to grieve alone, or he would break in front of her.

Even as that thought passed through his mind, he didn't move. His eyes never left her face as the resolve to be alone left him.

He was tired. Tired of feeling, of thinking, and of being. For a moment — just a moment — he would give in.

He made his choice.

He sat on the floor in front of her before pulling her forward into his lap. He curled around the woman protectively, breathing in her scent as he buried his face in the crook of her neck and ran his finger through her short, blonde hair. He narrowed his focus to her, and only her. The sensation of electricity through his body was a balm for his broken soul. This was more skin contact than they had ever had before, and his skin tingled from the pure potency of it.

It was as if a dam broke between them. Law's emotional walls dropped, and suddenly he felt everything that he had so desperately pushed away. The combination of this woman, his grief, his rage, and his exhaustion pushed Law over the edge. He pulled her closer and shuddered at the intensity of the raw emotions. She responded only by reaching one hand up and running her fingers through his hair, comforting him even as she wept against him, using her other arm to cling to him as he clung to her.

He pulled her even tighter against him as he gave in to her comforting presence.

They remained on the floor as they slowly processed their combined grief, guilt, and anguish over the death of Samei.

/././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

R&R please~!


	23. Chapter 23

Is groaned quietly before opening her eyes. The chest in front of her wasn't the normal plain, black t-shirt of her Captain. Rather, it was beige. Now that she looked closely, there was the emblem from the crew uniform.

Had it been a dream? Maybe she had fallen asleep next to Quilo. She closed her eyes again, willing herself back to sleep.

"Morning, Is!"

She knew that voice. Her eyes shot open, looking up into the face of Samei.

"Did you miss me?" He had a goofy grin to his face, and a blush dusted his cheeks as his eyes danced with mischief.

His face exploded over her again, coating her in the carnage. She found she couldn't move. There was no escape. Even her lungs refused to fill with air to scream.

His lips moved again, and his otherwise obliterated face leaned in close to hers. "You killed me. It's all your fault."

Is gasped and sat up, shaking.

The bed was empty. She drew her knees up to her chest, and tried to wipe the sensation of his blood off of her skin, scratching the exposed skin of her arm until it bled. Isabelle glanced at the clock in the dark of the night-lights. It was breakfast time, but she found she wasn't hungry. Not after that dream.

Was it a dream, or a vision?

Did it matter? Either way, he was right. She had killed him. She clenched her fists, cursing the visions that slowly began to appear around the room. If only she'd been stronger, if only she hadn't been distracted by that _boy_ …

Samei appeared on her lap again, his disfigured face staring up at her. She could see through to the inside of his skull, the glimmer of off-white beneath the gray of exposed brain matter and dark of drying blood. If she reached out, she could still feel his body grow steadily stiffer as death seeped through his veins and his body grew cold. She bit her lip and leaned against the headboard, and another body appeared next to her. An arm ghosted around her shoulders, and the tattooed man laughed beside her, a baby on his other arm.

The grief slammed against her chest, and she gasped, tremors wrecking through her body from the potency of it. This was assault from all sides, and told her more than she wanted to know about the tattooed man.

He must have been special to her at some point. And just like Samei, she'd lost him.

These waking nightmares that haunted her must be the dead whose blood she was responsible for. If she closed her eyes, maybe she would hear Samei laughing instead of the horrible truth in front of her. She clenched her eyes and swallowed forcefully.

The unnamed boy that had been accompanied by the unexplained grief had distracted her at a critical moment. And because he had… because she had looked at the vision instead of what was real, now Samei had joined them as a ghost.

This was too much. She threw off the covers and stood shakily from the bed, swallowing self-pity before moving towards the bedroom door.

The ghosts followed her.

Her Captain was not in his office. Typical.

She rubbed her eyes, willing the visions to disappear. An echo sounded off the wall, drawing her attention up only to see Samei laughing while playing cards with Shachi and Penguin on the couch. For a moment she watched, somewhat glad that at least this vision had his face whole again.

He'd never be whole again. Alice was now just a fantasy created by Isabelle's own hand.

She leaned against the doorway, the cool, metal surface soothing as she reminded herself what was real and what was not. The door was real. The floor was real. The bed was real.

Were any of her visions real?

She turned and practically ran out of the office, fleeing her visions and following instincts as she avoided the mess hall and rec room, opening the door to the training room instead. It was blissfully empty in front of her, a place where she could run away from the thoughts and visions that tormented her. She stepped in and closed the door behind her, ignoring the dead body of Samei in front of her again.

She'd never escape him.

She bit back a scream.

Taking a step forward, she began pacing around the edge of a section of hardwood floor for a moment and wringing her hands. The sharp crack of bone as she broke each individual finger soothed her, and she muttered quietly to herself as she named everything in the room that was real.

Her arms twitched and shook, and she clenched her jaw. This wasn't enough. She needed more to distract her.

Quilo had shown her a basic block and two cuts with a short sword and dagger. He had proposed that the fighting style that would suit her the best was one based mostly on dodging and slicing, an acrobatic style that relied on speed over strength. Although eventually she would work up to that, he had simply started her on stance and basics. Basics that would hopefully numb her, basics that would chase away the visions.

She stepped forward towards the weapons rack, grabbing the practice blades and beginning the very basic steps he had taught her. Block. Slice. Block. Slice. Block. Slice. She moved slowly, concentrating on every tiny movement and placement of muscle. If she focused inwards enough, maybe, just maybe, she would forget the texture of his brains on her face.

If only he'd let her.

She didn't know how long she continued. She practiced the two steps, trying to focus on her surroundings and empty her mind, even imagining that it was the shooter in front of her as she sliced him open.

It didn't help.

There was a prick of sensation on her heel, and Is jumped, her attention snapping to Quilo's smiling face as he wiggled his fingers at her in greeting. For a moment, she waited for him to disappear, or for her to see straight through him. It wasn't until she noticed something wet on her foot that she looked down. He had stabbed the back of her heel with a sword.

Relieved, she lowered her swords. He was real.

"On the balls of your feet, girly."

At least, she was mostly certain he was. She nodded, standing on the balls of her feet as she continued. He cut her again, forcing her into the correct stance with the same sweet smile as she continued through the movements. Nerves shot, she felt a tension within her coil with each correction, each stab of sensation. Any moment now, the bodies would reappear.

She lost her temper when he kicked her over.

"What the fuck, Quilo?" she snarled out from the ground.

He crouched in front of her, his vibrant smile in place as he leveled his sword at her neck. "I told you, stance is everything. You're not focused enough."

"It's kind of hard to focus when—" she stopped herself.

If she had focused through her visions, then Samei might still be alive.

She stood up, her chin stubbornly set as she got into her stance again. Channeling her anger and frustration, she faced the now standing Quilo, blades set at the ready. He nodded in brief approval before he moved fast as lightning, mechanically forcing her into the block. Her defense was shaky, but it held.

"Again."

She glared at his mocking smile and continued to block as he attacked her again and again. He taunted her mercilessly with each failure even as he expertly forced her into the same block, slicing into her when she lost her stance or fumbled. She was gasping before he finally let up, and he invited her over to the sink with an infuriating sashay of his hips. The man wasn't even winded, and she glared after him before she replaced the sword on the weapon's rack and followed, clutching the knife. To her surprise, he handed her a full cup of water before taking one for himself and sitting against the wall. Unsure for a moment, Is gingerly took a seat as well, keeping a respectful distance away from him.

They sat against the wall for a while, drinking from their paper cups and remaining silent.

The visions came back, and Is bit her lip to fight back the tears again. She scowled and stabbed herself in her foot with the practice dagger instead, realizing that she was still in her pajamas and barefoot. She hadn't even bothered with a bra.

"…You'll have to clean that."

She grunted in response, not bothering to look at him.

"You missed breakfast."

"… I wasn't hungry."

There was a pause here, and Is wondered if he was done talking before her head snapped forward. He had slapped her on the back of the head hard enough for it to connect with her drawn up knees. The empty cup was crushed in her hand.

"What the hell, Quilo?!"

"That's Teacher Quilo or Teacher to you." He winked at her. She gaped at him for a moment before he spoke again in the same flippant tone as before. "And punishing yourself ain't gonna bring him back, honey."

She recoiled away from him, ready to refute him before he cut her off, "Sure, it's your fault he's dead. Wallow in self-pity all you want, but that ain't gonna help you live next time."

She glared again. "I'm immortal, Quilo, I don't need—"

Her head snapped forward again, this time with more pain and leaving her dizzy for a moment. He'd used haki on her.

"That's _Teacher_ Quilo to you, honey. And immortality isn't invulnerability. You're slow as fuck right now."

She glared and stood up, shaking in her rage. "Really? Don't you think I haven't fucking figured that out? He's dead, and I should be too but for some reason _I can't die_. I see the fucking future, I should have seen it coming, I should have been able to… to…" She screamed in frustration as the tears came down again, and she stomped in tantrum, pulling at her hair with her free hand, the crumpled cup forgotten on the ground.

Quilo sighed. He stood up and flipped a dagger lazily. She didn't even know he had been holding one. "And yet he's dead. Fine. You've learned your lesson, and found out that you're not a perfect, special snowflake. Besides, he wouldn't want you to starve. Now, are you going to eat like a good student so I can kick your ass properly?"

She opened her mouth to argue before she closed it again.

 _Besides, he wouldn't want you to starve._

Even moments before he died, Samei was trying to feed her. The moment he realized her appetite, he had gone out of his way to make sure she always had food in her hands. She remembered when her Captain had stopped cutting her and her appetite had drastically cut back — Samei had been a mother hen, convinced that she was sick.

What would he say now?

 _"You killed me."_

She shook that thought out of her mind. That had to have been a dream. It wasn't a vision. Samei was too easy-going to hold a grudge against her.

Right?

Her shoulders slumped as she sighed in defeat.

Quilo was right. She was punishing herself in lieu of asking for forgiveness. She spoke quietly, barely a whisper.

"… Yes, Quilo." She flinched as he smacked her again.

He nodded. "Good. Now are you gonna put on some actual clothes?"

She looked down at the clothes she was wearing with a frown. The shorts were to mid-thigh and the tank top she wore covered enough to be decent. "… Why?"

"Because black is _so_ not your color."

Floored by his response, she suddenly burst into laughter. Quietly at first, before it became almost hysterical. Tears fell from her eyes as she clutched her sides in an attempt to breathe. With an exasperated sigh he pushed her out of the room and towards the mess hall, muttering about the clash of black against her pale skin and blonde hair, and how browns or greens would bring out her eyes.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law stood in the bedroom, surprised to find his bed empty and the uniform at the foot of the bed untouched. He frowned, as she wasn't in the bathroom either. He turned, leaving the bedroom and walking out the door of his office. Maybe he had missed her and she had gone to the mess deck. The idea of her wandering around in those pajamas pissed him off — she clearly had no concept of propriety.

Then again, this was a pirate ship. And he did not deny that the tank top suited her nicely, and her exposed shoulders were practically begging for him to carve into them…

His fingers twitched uncomfortably, and he shoved them into his pockets with an exasperated growl.

There was no denying these feelings any longer.

But what to do about it?

Clearly squashing them was no longer possible. He had tried to do so, and only ended up with more stress than it was really worth. Avoiding her hurt him more than it helped. It became apparent that the best solution would be to allow himself to feel for her when he'd woken up feeling… completely at ease with himself.

It scared him that these emotions had taken him over so quickly.

How ironic that he was now contemplating this, when just a few weeks ago he had scolded Samei for doing the same.

He opened the door to the mess deck only to find no one except for the chefs. So he closed the door and paused, trying to think of where she would be. Remembering the trembling woman holding his scalpel in defense upon waking a week ago, he headed to the gym. As he passed by the rec room, he could hear the voices of his crew beyond it.

Most of them would be in the rec room. Protocol dictated that in the event of the death of a crew member, the ship would run a skeleton crew for 48 hours to allow time for mourning unless in direct danger. Jean Bart, being mostly unaffected as he hadn't known the young Samei, had continued as helmsman in place of the bawling Bepo. The rest of the men would be taking turns drinking and commiserating together in the rec room, or seeking solitude elsewhere.

He opened the door to the gym, finally spotting the woman that had disappeared from his room while he'd been discussing navigation with Jean Bart. He closed the door behind him as he studied her on the dojo floor, short sword and dagger in place as Quilo drilled her over and over again, using a longsword to forcibly make a point if she made a mistake. There was already marked improvement in her stance, and Law appreciated the quality of Quilo's teaching methods. For anyone else, the man would have left them with enough bruises to make the lessons stick. Since there was no drawbacks to the immortal woman, Quilo never held back use of deadly force with her.

Her gaze turned and locked on to Law's. His breath hitched for a moment; the sight of her, coated in her own blood and ripped pajamas with an intense hatred burning in her eyes when she spotted Law at the door brought a grin to his lips. Her momentary lapse in concentration cost her as Quilo gutted her. She fell, clutching at her stomach and trying to keep her intestines from falling out.

After a moment of study, Law lost his grin. There was something off. He stepped towards her as he tried to piece together what was nagging at him.

Quilo gave him a flirtatious wave, but respectfully kept quiet as Law focused on the seer. He stood in front of her now, and she rose back to her feet. Her pajamas were well and truly ruined now, exposing her taut, pale stomach under a fresh coating of red. There was a madness in her eyes that combined with the burning of her hatred for him, a madness that left Law's heart pounding excitedly in his chest.

But that's not what he focused on. He switched on his objective brain, eyes narrowed as he looked her up and down. He grabbed her wrist, ignoring her snarled protest and the sword as he carefully studied the limb.

"… Is-ya, have you eaten today?"

Her glare softened, and she looked away from him. "… Yeah. Quilo made me." There was a reflexive flinch that raised Law's eyebrow, but the teasing glare and shrug from his Weapon's Master told him everything.

"How much did she eat, Quilo?"

Now Quilo looked confused. "A large bowl of oatmeal, Cap."

Law waited for the man to continue, but when he did not Law turned back to the woman in front of him. Eying her weapons carefully, he grabbed her neck and lifted her for a moment before dropping her in a heap on the floor. She sputtered, clearly biting back expletives with a dark glower. He grinned, amused at her reaction before he crouched in front of her, ignoring the language and grabbing her by the hair to pull her close.

"Relax, Is-ya. I was weighing you. You're covered in blood, and I happen to like this hoodie."

She ceased her mutterings, opting for a look of incredulous rage.

"How long have you been practicing?"

Quilo piped up, answering him, "We're approaching on our third hour, Cap, but I found her in here practicing by herself for I don't know how long."

Law glanced at the blood-stained floor, using it to confirm Quilo's timing. His eyes narrowed again. Law's meeting with Jean Bart had run long, about two hours as they discussed the specifics of the path they would take. Before that, Law had stopped by the rec room for an hour to pay his respects to his crew and answer questions. After the navigation meeting, Shachi and Penguin had pulled him aside to discuss the heating problems and a few mechanical issues that might pop up in the future.

All in all, he'd left his room almost four hours ago. Looking at her now, he doubted that she had slept long after.

Law hummed. Quilo spoke again, a touch of hesitation and worry in his voice. "… Is somethin' the matter, Cap?"

Is's rage abruptly cooled, and she blinked slowly at Law. He released the grip on her hair slowly, massaging her scalp for a moment before standing again.

"Is-ya has lost weight. Not much yet, maybe seven or eight pounds, but more than enough to raise serious concerns."

Quilo nodded solemnly, crossing his arms over his chest. "… I thought something was off. She was hella slow this mornin'."

Is rubbed her head slowly, eyes dejectedly gazing at the ground.

Law frowned. He doubted her captors had given her anything. Samei had a penchant for making sure she was well fed when she needed to be, and judging by the ice cream cone at the scene of the crime, he had been keeping her fed while they were out. Since they had spent most of yesterday in silent embrace, and she had spent the rest of it asleep until this morning…that meant almost two days without a full, proper meal while her healing ability was kicked into high gear. Even the little things, such as the never ending tears, would require calorie compensation.

And she had been slow this morning until Quilo had apparently gotten her to eat. For all of the man's intentions, he had very little contact to the insane woman prior to this. He may have noticed her eating habits, but not thought much of it. A large bowl to him could mean anything.

"Is-ya, you are going back to my room. You will shower and dress in uniform and then you are going to eat. Your healing ability is costing you a lot of calories that you need to make up."

She didn't move, but Law was patient. Quilo observed quietly, cleaning off his blade and hanging back on his own personal rack carefully. Unlike other practice weapons, his personal stash were usually live blades sharpened to perfection.

Law was more concerned with the seer. There was a visible war behind her eyes as a multitude of radically different emotions ranged past. Her breathing quickened, her knuckles turned white on the weapons that she still held in her hands. Grief, anger, rage, hatred, despair, longing—

He crouched in front of her again, touching her cheek lightly. "Isabelle, look at me."

She obeyed, the panic subsiding with his touch.

"Tell me what's wrong."

The panic returned to her eyes, and Law's hand moved to the back of her neck as he pulled her closer.

"Is-ya, answer the question."

She shook, eyes welling up with tears again as she answered him in a desperate voice, "I… I see him. He's following me."

"Who is following you?"

She clenched her eyes in a wince before she whispered out, "Samei."

Law frowned. She had clearly seen the boy's past and present before, so seeing him shouldn't be new — but the violence and suddenness of his death had had a strong impact on her fragile psyche. Unlike the rest of the men, whose memories would fade with time, Is was constantly seeing fresh images of him. This was not conducive to proper stages of grief and mourning.

He hummed, pulling off his hat and touching his forehead to hers. "… And now?"

She opened her hazel eyes hesitantly, blinking at him. He felt her relax under his hand on the back of her neck as relief visibly spread across her face.

"… No, Captain."

Law sighed. Clearly he would need to stay by her side again today.

"… Captain?"

"Hm?"

"… Why do the visions go away when you touch me?"

Law paused, before he pulled back from her slowly. He kept his hand on the back of her neck as he belatedly remembered that Quilo was in the room. Glancing at the man, he had pulled out staff and was doing a pattern dance on another space farther away. It was still within hearing distance, another reason why Law didn't want to answer her question.

The primary reason, of course, being that he'd rather have Shakky explained it.

He spoke softly, eyes trained on Quilo as he answered her, "… There is a woman at one of the next islands on our itinerary who will explain things more thoroughly to you. For now, just know that I am your connection to reality. The visions are things you shouldn't see."

She nodded slowly. "… So then it's true. They aren't real."

Law frowned. "You're talking about Samei's future, aren't you?"

She froze, then paled, guilt pulling at her lips.

Law sighed, tugging her up with one hand and towards the rack to clean and replace her weapons. The floor was bloodied, but she could clean that later. Her health came first, which meant a shower, food, and continuous physical contact.

He ignored the thought that popped into his mind in favor of answering her statement as he switched his grip to her shoulder. "They're real, as far as I can tell. The ones for the future, though… they are less definite than the ones for the past. More like… a possibility than an absolute truth."

She cleaned her weapons as she listened, her face downcast and contemplative. Ignoring her melancholy, he guided her out the door in silence. Luckily, as they walked the blood dried from her body. Law was getting a little tired of the blood in his carpet.

They'd have to find someone else to be their chore boy.

When they arrived in his bedroom, he released her shoulder, dropped his hat on the bed, and washed his hands in the bathroom sink. He watched her carefully in the mirror as she took in her own bloodied visage.

It really was a great look on her. He turned around and leaned against the counter, arms crossed over his chest to keep himself in check. Even if he did have feelings, even if he wanted to take her in a fit of passion, now was not the time.

Or at least, that's what he told himself.

Her listless gaze finally left the mirror and trailed up his crossed arms, slowly gliding up to his eyes. With a single finger raised, she reached up and tapped his forehead.

"Missed a spot."

He grinned again. "Maybe I just liked the look. You seem to wear it well enough."

The barest ghost of a smile tugged on her lips. "You really are a kinky bastard, aren't you?"

He hummed in agreement, suppressing a shiver down his spine as her finger slowly slid down the side of his face. She hadn't noticed, eyes unfocused again as she retreated to her own thoughts.

She was so close. All it would take would be for Law to take a single step forward, dip his head just an inch and he could capture those lips. He could paint his bathroom walls in her blood while thrusting in and out of her. He could force her to focus on him and only him while moaning his name…

He uncrossed his arms, his fingers twitching at the surge of desire for her before pushing her towards the shower and away from him.

"Shower, then eat, Is-ya."

She just nodded before she reached for the bottom of her shirt and Law shut the bathroom door behind him. He reached for the rag in his back pocket, twirling his scalpel and wiping his forehead off as he headed to his desk. There were a stack of dry reports waiting for him — reports that would distract him from his current… problem.

He didn't know if he'd be able to last the week with her so close.

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For international readers, just know that it is entirely within the realm of normal to gain or lose up to five pounds in the span of a day depending on hydration level, food intake, and your digestive system. Seven or eight pounds is just enough to be noticeable - depending on the person, you might even notice a thinning in places such as the face and wrists.

Thanks for the read. :) Don't forget to drop a review, the box is right there.

Also, updates will become a bit more sporadic from now on - for those of you who didn't know, I began writing this while on bedrest a couple of weeks ago. I'm slowly moving off of bedrest, so I have less time to write now, which means it will be less likely to have five updates in two days. :P Yay for progress!


	24. Chapter 24

Long time no see, my friends! Enjoy!

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Is tried washing herself as she was ordered. Her body moved on instinct while her Captain's words continuously circled in her mind.

 _"For now, just know that I am your connection to reality."_

What the fuck did that even mean?

How many people needed a connection to reality? Reality was reality, it was right there in front of her. There was only one reality.

So why did she have trouble remembering what was real?

Images of the tattooed man and his son flittered past her mind's eye. His tattoos… they didn't seem possible. It shouldn't have been possible for those tattoos to exist. They were far too intricate.

Or at least, it shouldn't have been possible in this reality.

Were there… multiple realities? Some of the things she saw, where they other realities?

She rejected this thought, turning to reaching for the soap and almost screaming at the sweet Samei, scrubbing the deck next to her. Instead, she bit her tongue, spitting it out as she realized she'd bit it off. There was a stain of red that painted the bottom of the tub, swirling in intricate patterns until it disappeared down the drain.

Is grimaced, knowing that her Captain would scold her for hurting herself when she was already suffering the consequences. What was wrong with losing a few pounds, anyway? She scrubbed the fresh blood off her body, using the shower head to rinse the rest of it down the drain and picking up the bit of tongue to toss it into the toilet. At least the vision of Samei was gone now, chased away by the sensation of pain in her mouth.

Weren't women always trying to lose weight? Looking down at herself, she didn't seem like she was overweight, nor did she look underweight. So seven or eight pounds were lost, big deal. They were hardly necessary. For all she knew, it could have just been water-weight. She'd been training for a while, after all.

So why did her Captain care?

She supposed it went back to his doctor background. He always kept a close watch on the health of his crew members, stepping in immediately before it ever became a problem. She knew that.

Why did she know that?

Why did he glow?

What did he mean, "her connection to reality?" It sounded like something lame out of a romance novel.

That thought distracted her from her musings. Images of his naked torso popped into her mind. Immediately she was torn between swearing at herself and appreciating the view. Is had always known that her Captain was talented in the bedroom — she could hardly escape it when he was having sex in the corner occasionally. She frowned, realizing that she hadn't seen any sex since she had taken the brunette in Samei's room.

What was different?

Well, the fact that she was no longer horny, she supposed.

Ah, wait, she spoke too soon. There he was, fucking someone else. She turned off the water, huffing indignantly.

She reached for the the towel, pausing when a thought passed through her mind. Is held her hand out in front of her face as she contemplated it.

What was that… that sensation that always brought her back to reality, that chased away the visions, and that somehow made her feel whole? Even as she hated her Captain, she craved him. Even stepping this far away, every broken part of her self felt like fresh wounds again.

Nothing involving the Captain ever made sense. Is knew her loyalty was to her Captain — she'd follow him anywhere. She also hated his guts. She wanted to paint the walls in his blood and brutalize him. Then she wanted to fuck him. He was comforting and aggravating all at once.

How would his skin feel under her finger tips if he…

She shook her head. No, he didn't feel that way towards her.

… Didn't he?

And even if he did, would that matter? He was her Captain. Sleeping with him would make her out to be a common whore like the rest of his conquests.

Right. She was. Forgot about that bit. Damn Doflamingo.

She dried herself off with the towel slowly as she tried to reason through the enigma that was Trafalgar D. Water Law. Nothing made sense.

No, no it did. She was attracted to him. That made sense. He was hot.

Back to the reality thing though…

Nope, she was now thoroughly distracted about thinking of him fucking her. She glanced up. She didn't have to look far to imagine it.

Suddenly she felt dirty. She flushed the tongue, wrapping the towel around herself as she stepped into her Captain's bedroom. He'd given her a small drawer for underwear and bras, and then whoever was on laundry duty brought a fresh uniform into the room before they went to bed. They always delivered it to everyone at night before they went to bed (or as they were waking up, in the case of the night crew). The bedroom door was closed, so she hung up the towel in the bathroom and proceeded to dress in her uniform, running her fingers through her damp hair in an attempt to comb it. It always ended up sticking up in weird spots. Usually it was hidden under her hat… but she pushed away that thought. The hat was ruined. She'd have to find a new one.

Then again, her appearance never bothered her before. She had obviously been attractive enough to snag that brunette back at the bar.

She was a little guilty. Is hadn't technically gone against her Captain's orders, though she knew he would be pissed if he found out. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Is turned to open the bedroom door before stopping again. The room completely disappeared around her as she found herself surrounded by snow, ice, and mountains. In the distance, there was a crash as she saw the blue dome of her Captain's powers flicker into place.

And then it was gone. She frowned. Visions never fully took away her line of sight. Maybe there was something particularly important about that one.

She opened the door, so lost in thought that she hadn't even realized she'd forgotten shoes. Her headache was coming back.

Nothing made sense.

What was she?

Something shook her out of her reverie, and she looked up into the steel gray eyes of her Captain. There was something so comforting about seeing something and knowing immediately it was real. She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his middle, resting her head on his shoulder. After a moment, his chest heaved in a sigh as he ran his fingers through her hair with one hand, messing up the semblance of order she had brought to the strands earlier.

There. They were going away.

In the end, did any of it really matter? She was who she was, and worrying about it wouldn't tell her anything. She would do as she had done before, take everything day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. Even if there were more realities, the only thing that mattered was her connection to this one.

Law. He was the only thing that mattered.

Damnit, she hated him. It wasn't fair. What made him so fucking special, anyway?

"… I hate you, Captain."

He chuckled. "For making you shower?"

"No. Because you're a sarcastic ass. But for some reason, you're the only thing that makes these damnable visions go away. Which sucks, because you're an ass."

"Such animosity for your Captain."

"Shut up."

Another chuckle. He pulled out of her grip, but kept his hand on her head, massaging her scalp and bending slightly to look in her eyes. His eyes were amused under shadow from the brim of his hat, his grin lopsided. Is wanted to glare. She really did.

Fuck it, she grinned back. Hers matched his for lopsidedness.

"How do you feel, Is-ya?"

After assessing herself for a moment, she replied, "… Hungry, Captain. I feel hungry."

He hummed in amusement, before looking pointedly at her feet.

"Shoes are required."

She pouted. "They weren't earlier."

He flicked her nose. "Go put on shoes, Is-ya."

Grumbling under her breath, she returned to the room and grabbed the boots, shoving her feet into them and lacing without bothering with socks. She felt like she was the kind of person who didn't like bothering with clothing unless necessary, and socks were not on the list of "necessary" items of clothing. When she returned to the room, he was reading something while standing in front of his desk. As she approached, there was a slight frown to his features — his look of concentration.

Smiling wryly, she poked him in the arm. "Is reading so difficult that it always causes you to frown, or is it just that paper?"

He grinned, handing it to her. "Why don't you tell me?"

She took a look, realizing that it was all in code. From his smug look, he knew that she wouldn't be able to decipher it. He leaned back on the desk, his arms crossed and waited expectantly for her to answer.

"… See, this is what I mean. You are such an ass."

"You started it."

"Fuck you."

"Maybe later."

That was not a blush. Nope. Not a blush. Damnit, she wouldn't be beaten at her own game.

"Is that a promise?"

He blinked, his smug facade dropping slightly. When he spoke, it was cautious rather than confident. "Why? Interested?"

She smirked. He was on the defensive again. She was winning.

Until Samei's voice broke her mood. He was crying as a young woman broke his poor, naive teenaged heart. Immediately crushed, she swore quietly under her breath and rubbed her temples, attempting not to crush the report she belatedly remembered she held in her hand.

"… Samei?"

Jaw taut, she managed a nod. Cool fingers found their way to her head again as he pulled the report from her hand and began to read it again. The worst of the pain ebbed away, and the voices disappeared. The tightness in her jaw loosened.

"… Will he ever go away, Captain?"

"It's only been two days. You need more time to heal."

She scoffed. "Of course. Heal. If only it were that easy."

"Mourning is never easy."

"It is for you."

He sighed. "More experience, Is-ya."

"… Right. Forgot about that. Sorry."

From the corner of his eye, he glanced at her, his body rigid for a moment before he looked back at the paper in his hand. "… Don't worry about it." He placed the paper back on his desk in a careful pile. "Let's go get food."

His hand slipped off her head, and she watched him walk towards the door in front of her. The emotions were back, swirling in her chest again in a confusing mush. Shoving them down into her chest, she shook her head before following him out the door.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Over the next few days, Law watched Is carefully. She stayed either by Law's side or in the training hall. Quilo's brutalization of her seemed to offer a slight reprieve from himself, a reprieve that Law welcomed. There was a continued tension between them that seemed to build with every passing minute — one would start harassing the other, it would lead to some light flirtation or teasing, and then something would distract her, effectively breaking the moment. Usually it was Samei.

From Law's observations, he figured that she had a subconscious level of control over her visions. When he had questioned her, she admitted to not seeing Samei so often before his death, meaning that she was trapped in a never ending cycle that refused to allow her proper mourning. When he wasn't touching her, she would get increasingly agitated until she broke down. Twice he had to be called into the training hall to bring her back to her senses. The first time, she had collapsed in screams of agony, attempting suicide with the dull blades she practiced with. The second time, she simply stopped responding to everything, completely withdrawing into herself as she sat kneeling on the floor.

Even if it left him twitchy, Law didn't cut into her. She continued to have issues eating, worrying everyone from Shachi and Penguin to Couri the cook. It wasn't until he sat down next to her with a feeding tube in his hands and a glare that she actually began feeding herself again. Unfortunately, soup had become something that she refused.

Anything in a bowl was refused.

Law had his suspicions for why. The abject horror on her face was clue enough.

After two days of this, she finally stopped losing weight. By that point, she had lost around ten pounds. Between the ferocity with which she took her training and the difficulty she had eating, Law was mildly surprised that she didn't lose more. He had tried to ask Quilo to stop physically harming her during practices, but that had lead to the formerly mentioned first incident. The second incident in the training room was during Quilo's day off — she had been practicing alone.

He supposed he should be pleased about the fact that she responded to someone else — even if it was only briefly, and only through rather violent means. Instead, he was pissed. Like a child denied his favorite treat. It wasn't fair that Quilo got to cut into her, but he was left in the dumps.

He was the Captain, damnit. A notorious pirate, sadistic, cunning, and cruel.

And he was _sharing_.

Luckily, the crew had slowly begun to heal from their own grief. Things were going back to normal, even if Bepo occasional stepped out to shed a tear or two. He had always been a bit more sensitive to this sort of thing.

Laughter was beginning to return to the rec room. Even more so today; they were on their way to Sabaody after dropping off the hearts. His crew were already laughing and celebrating despite the fact that he had not explicitly been granted the position. Law himself had decided to reward himself with a night off and sat drinking with the crew. Even if he never drank enough to get drunk, he could drink enough to get a nice, comforting buzz going. A buzz that wouldn't involve a plethora of damnable _feelings_.

The looks on the faces of the Marine Vice-admiral as he had looked inside the box had been pure gold. Definitely worth the loss from his collection.

Well. Almost.

He still would have preferred to have Samei around.

The door to the rec room opened, and Is stepped in. She looked thoroughly uncomfortable, but Quilo pushed her towards the bar.

"Stop moping, already. A drink will do you good."

Law frowned at this. He wasn't sure a drink was a good idea.

At the same time, there was a possibility of a drunk Is.

He blamed the rum for allowing this to happen. Rum and curiosity.

He grinned as he watched her clearly look uncomfortable with Quilo's arm wrapped around her shoulders. Neither of them seemed to like each other much, which meant that Quilo went out of his way to make the young woman uneasy. She glanced at Law, who was sitting opposite of the bar on one of the four couches, resting his arm across the back of it as the glass of rum sat balanced between his fingers and knee.

He grinned at her, and raised his glass in approval. She didn't get the chance to return his mockery of her situation, as her eyes were immediately glued to the floor.

He belatedly realized the problem. She had tried to avoid the crew as much as possible over the last few days, meaning this would be the first time that she was surrounded by so many in a clearly social situation. Even at meal times, she had barely spoken to the rest of the crew.

The room went quiet. The silence was broken as Couri approached her and enveloped her in a strong hug. Her eyes went wide, then concerned, before she returned the gesture and affectionately nuzzled the man's neck.

Law took another sip of his drink as he tried to fight the surge of jealousy. Glancing at Quilo, he wasn't the only one jealous. He grinned again.

More crew members lined up to hug and console the young woman. She was completely bewildered until Shachi gave her a glass of rum. He offered it to her with a small smile and a blush.

"We're glad you're okay, Is-chan. We were really worried about you, you know."

She teared a bit, clearly still guilty. Penguin wrapped an arm around her shoulders and shoved the drink into her hand with a mischievous smile. She stared at it for only a moment before downing the entire glass in a single shot.

Law's eyebrow shot up. That was damn good rum. Meant to be sipped. And judging by the size of the glass, it was about three shots worth of the stuff.

The rest of the crew laughed, clearly entertained. They gave her a seat at the bar and began loudly serenading the young woman. She coughed on the drink, before shyly grinning at them. Penguin relinquished his hold on her shoulders to tell her a joke involving a whale and a surgeon fish. She giggled a bit at the joke, but remained stiff.

Lixue engaged Law in an in depth discussion on deep-sea fish that was surprisingly interesting, distracting Law for a while. He kept one eye on Is, watching her fidget with the glass in her hands.

"You seem a bit stiff there."

James was leaning over the back of the couch on Law's other side. Law glanced at the man, opting to take another sip of his drink.

"… She's a bit stiff as well, I know. All part of the healing process, I'm sure."

Law scoffed. "Go away, James."

The man considered his Captain for a moment, before taking another drink. "I know that look, Captain. Trust me, it leads to good things. Don't cheat yourself."

Lixue very carefully took another drink from his beer, coughing slightly and scooted away, engaging in a conversation with Yas about gun types.

Law considered the man on his left. He slowly lowered the drink into his lap again before glancing back at the young woman. Couri was making her a drink from behind the counter. Judging on the bottles he was using, it was a strong one. This made him frown, but at least it wasn't his expensive rum again.

"… I don't know what you mean, James."

She downed that glass immediately as well. Law frowned again. It hadn't been long since she had walked in here. Judging by the way she was pushing the glass forward, she was asking for another. Couri caught Law's eyes, and he gave a slight shake of his head. That had been quite a bit of alcohol in ten minutes. She could wait for more.

James spoke again, softly. "I'm no fool. Something's going on between you two. I'm just saying that, even if you don't need it, you have my approval."

Law scoffed. "Nothing's going on."

"I'll pretend I believe you."

Law took a calculated sip of his drink. "… I don't have to answer to any of this, you know."

James chuckled. "Captain, since she's walked in here your eyes have barely left her."

Law managed to maintain his mask of indifference — barely. James was too smart for his own good.

"To make sure that she doesn't have another episode. I'm a doctor, James. And she is my patient."

"Don't treat me like an idiot, Captain."

Law sighed. "… I'm being honest. At the present, there is nothing between me and Is-ya."

"Hm. Alright then. I guess it's okay if I tell Penguin that he's golden then, huh? Because he's been gushing about her for a few days now."

James's gaze was far too knowing for Law's comfort at his immediate jealousy. Law's trademark grin had long since left his face, and now he fought a glare at the medic beside him.

"… James…" he spoke in a low growl.

James held up his hands in a passive manner. "I will not speak of this again. I know that you are being honest with me. I just wonder if you're being honest with yourself."

With that, the man walked away. Law glared after him. He did not need James pointing out Law's flawed and distracting emotions. Law stood, wanting a moment alone with his swirling thoughts. As he stood, he glanced at the stiff back of his seer. Her foot danced on the barstool as she fidgeted. Her smile was as genuine as it was tight. She laughed openly as Couri berated the blushing Shachi.

It was a sound that set his heart fluttering.

Clearly the alcohol was affecting his level of control over himself. He carefully set his face blank before turning to sit on the darkened side of the room on a lounge chair. He picked out an old medical textbook to read, but found his eyes glazing over the pages. His mind continued to wander back to the young woman who was even now ignoring his presence in the room. The medic's words circled through his mind, mixing with various images of her, every memory mixing with every fantasy.

He turned the pages to keep up appearances.

Of course he knew he had caught feelings. He'd known for a while. He wasn't sure how to go about acting upon it, partially because he'd never had to seriously pursue anyone before. This was decidedly different than a bar hook-up, and require far more finesse. Even if he knew her attraction to him, there was one other reason he hadn't acted.

He was scared.

Samei's death had reminded him of how much he had to lose. She had already wormed her way closer than the young man had ever been to Law — even if she couldn't die, there were many ways of losing someone.

It was also possible, however remote, that she would rebuke any advances he made. Even if she was attracted, she clearly detested him as much as she wanted him. It was certainly earned. As interesting as that might make sex… the _feelings_ he had complicated things.

He fought a sneer at the thought of said feelings. Ugh.

What if the desires he felt were purely for sinful indulgence? She was unstable at best. If she grew to rely on him even more than she was, and he grew tired of her… It could very well ruin her.

Perhaps him, as well.

 _Was_ he just cheating himself?

There was a collective gasp from his crew. His eyes drifted back over to Is, and became riveted on her form.

She'd gone completely stiff.

There was a now empty bottle of vodka next to her. He discarded the book carelessly on a side table, standing up to cross the room to her. When he reached her, he touched her shoulder lightly, and leaned on the countertop next to her. She looked dazed. Her eyes slowly met his.

She took in a deep breath, before she said slowly, "… I don't think I can get drunk."

Really, in all honesty, he should have seen that coming. He nodded. "Makes sense. Alcohol is essentially a poison, so it makes sense that you wouldn't necessarily be affected."

Lost in her daze, she turned back to the bar. He glanced down, realizing that she was gripping the countertop with enough force to make her knuckles go white.

"… What's bothering you, Is-ya?"

She took a shaky breath. "… Am I human, Captain?"

This was not what Law was expecting. "… As far as I can tell—"

"Most humans don't regenerate like I do. They are not immortal. They get drunk off of alcohol, and don't see visions. They get Haki, they can eat a devil fruit… but this is… wrong, almost."

Law sighed. "I told you not to focus on the visions."

This earned a reaction. Her shoulders, stiff before, went even more tense. The grip intensified as burning anger lit up her eyes. She spat out in a hushed whisper, "I'd like to see you fucking try, _Captain_."

He grinned despite himself. This anger that lit up her eyes seemed to elevate the colors in them. They were more dramatic than usual.

She was beautiful when angry.

He grabbed her hand, prying it gently from the counter. He was vaguely aware that he crew was watching him, but he couldn't find it in him to care. Instead, he occupied his hands and his buzzed mind by humming and skinning her. He used a towel from the bar to catch the blood as he pulled out the nerves from the back of her hand and make her fingers twitch.

Fuck he had missed this. She slowly relaxed, the anger giving way to a confused contentment even as she continued to pout.

"Even if you weren't human, would it matter?"

Stunned, she lost her pout. She opened her mouth to reply a few times before abruptly closing it. After a few moments of thought, she sighed in defeat. "… I guess not."

"Good." He pinched a nerve particularly roughly, causing her to wince slightly. Once again, he blamed alcohol for poor decision making.

Is continued to watch Law, as fascinated with his ministrations as he was with her nerves. "… Is it weird to say I've missed this?"

Startled, he glanced at her and pause for a moment before he continued. "… Missed being mutilated? Doesn't Quilo do that for you daily?"

She shook her head. "It's not the same."

His grin turned teasing. "Why? Not as attracted to Quilo as you are to me?"

"It's hard to be attracted to someone who so vehemently despises you."

"He doesn't despise you."

"But he doesn't like me."

"Which isn't the same as despising."

"My point still stands."

"No, your point is invalid because I just disproved it."

"You can't prove that he doesn't vehemently despise me."

"If he vehemently despised you, he wouldn't bother personally training you."

She opened her mouth to argue, before deciding to grumble expletives under her breath instead. He grinned in triumph, before breaking a few of her smaller hand bones into several pieces, placing them in different spots in her hand, and closing up the skin. He waited patiently before watching in fascination as they pushed themselves out of the skin and clattered to the counter.

"… You look pleased with yourself, Captain."

He chuckled. "Probably because I am. I like surgery."

"This isn't surgery."

"Technically, it is. Illegal surgery, but I'm a pirate."

"Surgery involves the treatment of conditions. This isn't treating me."

"No, but exploratory surgery on live patients to diagnosis something is a treatment that is used fairly commonly when there is no other alternative."

"… Just how many experiments did you do on me?"

His grin turned sinister as he remembered that first night where he brutalized her to the point of making her eyes turn black. Fond memories and all. She shuddered, although Law couldn't tell if it was from anticipation and attraction or disgust and fear. He couldn't tell which he'd prefer.

The thought of fucking her passed into his mind, and he immediately wanted the former.

"… Oh, Shachi and Penguin showed me my room today. They finished it."

Wait, what?

Law vaguely remembered the two mechanics deciding to give her a room right before Tortuga — one with her own bathroom and closet, and without a carpet to bleed all over. Law frowned. He didn't want her to leave his room. Both for her mental health, and the previous images he had.

Studying him carefully, she asked him, "Is it okay if I try sleeping in my room tonight, Captain?"

His eyes drifted back to the other men in the room, men who were clearly attempting to pretend they couldn't hear the conversation between seer and Captain. Except for Quilo, who was staring at his Captain in almost… anticipation with a knowing grin. Law's eyes narrowed.

"… Yes. You may. You'll know where to find me if you need something." With that, he dropped her hand, grabbed his expensive bottle of rum and his glass, and headed out the room. Before leaving, he glanced over his shoulder at her with a mischievous grin. "After you clean up your blood, of course."

He had expected her to stick out her tongue, or tease him, or even glare. Instead, her face was carefully blank, and she even nodded obediently before she began cleaning up the counter.

He forced himself to turn back and close the door behind him. He glared at the floor for a moment before proceeding to his room to wash his hands and have another drink. He was going to need it.

She had not been nearly so successful with her eyes.

/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

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	25. Chapter 25

Is tossed. She turned. And tossed again. She scratched at her skin. Hell, she even masturbated to the visions of porn in the corner of the room.

Nothing helped. Everywhere she turned, she was reminded of the fact that he wasn't there. She couldn't even finish masturbating, which she was convinced was one of the most frustrating things a person could go through.

She couldn't help it. It was hard to masturbate to Samei's brains.

Also massive death and destruction. But she was getting used to that one.

Wow. That was a sad statement. How psychopathic did you have to be before that crosses your mind?

Giving up on sleeping, she decided to meditate. She didn't know when she had learned mediation, but she was pretty sure she knew how to mediate. Another mystery to the box, she supposed.

She sat up in her bed, leaning against the wall. The bed was much smaller than her Captain's bed, as her Captain's bed was a king size bed and this was a regular full bed. It was equally comfortable, she supposed. At least in terms of mattress support and firmness. Shachi and Penguin had decorated the room with green accents (she didn't ask how they knew her favorite color), with a dark green comforter, a light green shower curtain in the bathroom, and even a painting hung up on the wall. There was a small desk on the opposite corner of the room from the bed, with a bookshelf adjacent to it. The bookshelf had the same spill proof bars as her Captain's shelves did, with one main exception.

There were no books in her shelf.

Bepo, Minnow and Is were going to buy some. They were. But Is had been so distracted by everything that they hadn't had time to do so on that first day in Tortuga. Samei had promised to buy her some.

Apparently he had. They remained unwrapped on her desk next to the sunglasses he had bought her.

She closed her eyes to the image, breathing in deeply and focusing solely on what she felt physically. Her heart as it beat slowly in her chest. Her lungs as they expanded and contracted. Her arms as they dangled in her lap. Even with her eyes closed the visions came at her in furious waves, almost angered at her for ignoring them. But she focused on her body rather than her mind, taking comfort in reminding herself of what was real.

She didn't know how long she'd been in that state, legs crossed as she leaned back against the wall. After many, many breathes and heartbeats, the visions finally slowed. They became reasonable and more intelligible. Curious at this sudden change, her focus switched from her body to her mind as she took a passive view. Is frowned, as one in particular caught her attention — It was the icy mountains she had seen earlier that week.

Or was it the day before?

What day was it?

She found herself transported to that stage again. The snow swirled around her, distorting the vision of the marine warship slightly.

There were large steel doors embedded into the mountain side. There stood her Captain in all of his glory. He looked even more muscular than he was now, if that were possible. His hat was changed as well, meaning that it was not within the next year or so. There was no sign of his crew anywhere, but the Marine Captain he spoke with seemed angered, yelling at him.

Is continued to watch for a while as the Straw Hats appear with giant children. She almost laughed at the look on her Captain's face.

Her heart beat a little faster, and the illusion of control was shattered. She ignored the flurry of images, touching her chest lightly. She breathed in, a small smile on her face as she enjoyed the lightness that was suddenly there. For one shinning moment, she was happy even if she didn't know why.

Butterflies danced within her chest for a moment longer, and she stifled a giggle before the realization ripped at her. Isabelle's smile fell.

She was more than physically attracted to him.

Fuck.

In frustration, Is threw a pillow at the wall. This wasn't fair. But she knew this feeling in her chest, and knew what it was a precursor to. She put her head in her hands and began to groan quietly, falling back onto the bed and wondering where everything had gone so wrong. Had her life always been this fucked up? The clear insanity, constant visions, becoming the reason that Samei died, and finally beginning to fall for the one man who would never reciprocate.

As quickly as the flutter had come, it left, leaving her feeling empty instead. She knew what she needed, but she no longer had an excuse to have it. She had her own room now. He clearly was happy about having her out of his room, she was sure of it.

No one would ever love someone as broken as she.

With that thought was the tattooed man. He appeared in a café across the street from her, smiling at a young asian woman, their hands intertwined lovingly. Rage burned in her chest as she stood from her bed and cursed herself. This was ridiculous. Enough was enough.

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Law tossed. And turned. And tossed again. Nothing seemed to help. Even with the rum he had, he couldn't fall asleep. He had already forgotten how hard it was to without her in his arms. With a sigh, he sat up.

He had switched back to the simple pajama pants without a shirt again, as he had always preferred being shirtless when sleeping anyway. He got hot too easily. Maybe that was why he liked holding Is while he slept; she always seemed a little cold to the touch, as if she herself was cold but just never noticed.

He leaned against his headboard as he thought about her eyes as he had left the rec room this evening. Those emotions in her eyes when he had casually told her that she could freely stay in her own room… She had been disappointed. Sad, disappointed, and even a bit betrayed.

She had slept just fine back in Tortuga, hadn't she?

Except she showered in the middle of the night. Law frowned. Why did she shower in the middle of the night? The room had been silent previously. Maybe she had woken up in the middle of the night and needed a shower? It couldn't have been the same reason that he had needed either of his showers — she was under too close of watch to have pulled off mass murder or bringing a man to her room.

Law's hands crossed behind his head. That look in her eyes… did she… perhaps… had she also caught feelings?

There was a sudden, unexplained anxiety in his chest, and he stood from his bed. Using one hand, he rubbed at the spot and frowned, trying to squash his damnable emotions.

No. She couldn't have possible caught feelings as he had. Even if she had… would starting something even be worth it? Logically, there was no reason to it besides a more continuous stream of sex.

Which was a rather persuasive argument, but that wasn't the point.

Yet even now he was pacing his room wanting nothing more than to have her in his arms again. He stopped pacing. If he wasn't going to sleep, then perhaps he could get some training in. After a defeated sigh and a scratch to the back of his head, he fought a groan in the frustration of it all. Wasn't the rum supposed to numb you to your emotions? Instead, it had knocked down his walls and left him more vulnerable to them. Vulnerable, but yet… happy.

It was a weird sensation. He turned to his door, determined to use exercise to forget if rum wasn't doing the trick. Law opened his bedroom door and froze in place, his breath caught somewhere in his throat.

There she was, the object of his affliction, standing on the other side with her hand raised to knock. Is looked as surprised as he was.

For a moment, they just observed each other. Neither wanted to give in first. Then—

"I… I couldn't sleep, Captain."

A grin tugged at his lips as his heartbeat went wild in his chest. Internally, he tried to fight his elation only to give up.

"I can see that."

She glared lightly at him before sighing in defeat. "Could you… I don't know… cut me some more or something?"

Law had heard of midnight fantasies being fulfilled, but this was something else. He stepped away from the doorway to let her in, tilting his head towards his bathroom. She pushed the door open and took a seat on his bathroom counter. There was a stubborn tilt to her already stubborn chin, and a small frown adorning her bushy brows. Her short, messy, blonde hair almost glowed in the light of the bathroom, and Law felt the corner of his mouth twitch. Instead, he reached for the small towel on top of the dresser and pulled out his scalpel. He positioned himself in front of her, standing between her legs and twirling the scalpel with anticipation as he tried to decide where to cut first.

Her chest was more revealed than usual in this top, and Law decided he wanted to see how well this scalpel could cut into her ribs. Normally a surgeon would use a bone saw, but he had just sharpened this particular scalpel.

Besides, once he removed the skin he could just break off the ribs with his hand.

He set to work, skinning her upper chest and pulling the back the skin. She sighed contentedly. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked her.

"Couldn't you?"

He scoffed. "I've suffered insomnia a long time."

She paused for a moment, before shifting slightly. Her voice trailed off slowly when she spoke, almost as if she were speaking to herself. "… I should know that, shouldn't I…"

He shrugged, concentrating on his work. He watched with satisfaction as her lungs filled with air and emptied themselves behind her rib cage. He'd need to break through her manubrium or her ribs if he wanted access to her beating heart. He'd also have to reach lower. Instead, he carved his pirate flag into her chest bone with the scalpel.

"… You always look so damn happy when you're cutting into me."

He hummed in agreement. He wrapped his fingers around her second ribbed to break it. Before he could, he looked into her hazel eyes and realized his mistakes of the night.

His first had been drinking. His second had been letting her try sleeping in her own room. His third had been this position. His fourth had been to look into her eyes.

They were soft, vulnerable, and open to him. There was a trust in them, an intensity of emotions that set his chest ablaze. His grip on her rib tightened, pulling her unconsciously closer. The tingle that made him want to shiver ran through his fingers and down his spine as he suddenly forgot to breathe. Their faces were mere inches apart, his breath ghosting over her face as he realized that both of their lips were ever so slightly parted. His fingertips could feel her heart as it beat faster.

In that moment, he knew she wanted it as much as he did. He could see it in her eyes.

He bent his lips forward and pressed them on hers. It was meant as a gentle movement — or as gentle as you can be with someone's exposed rib in your grip. He had definitely intended it to be gentle.

But the moment their lips had touched, something happened. It was as if the outside world ceased to exist. The electricity surged between them, stealing his breath again and setting his body ablaze. He pressed against her, enthralled and high on the sensation as it coursed through his veins. He couldn't have let go if he wanted to. He removed his hand from her rib to pull her closer from the back of her neck. There was a wet sensation on his chest as her blood spilled on him, setting a fire through his already electrified veins.

His other hand dropped the scalpel on the countertop as he reached to pull her hips closer to his. Vaguely, he registered that her legs had wrapped themselves around his hips, one hand as intertwined with his hair as his was with her hair. The other hand was dancing across his chest, and he growled softly at the feather light tingles that were sent through his body. The kiss turned from gentle exploration to a battle for dominance between the two of them as they made out in their fit of passion. Her fingers scratched at his chest, and he groaned softly as he bruised her hips with his hand. He tugged on her hair, forcing her head back as his tongue dove in to explore her mouth, earning him a low moan from her. Somehow the electric sensations seemed to grow in intensity with every increased level of intimacy.

This thought left him panting with anticipation. He pulled her even closer against him, earning a small gasp from the seer. Her free hand was dragging her nails roughly against his back. He pulled her head back from him, panting as he attempt to gain some semblance of control over himself.

But one look into those lust-filled eyes and Law was lost. He was completely intoxicated with her, and they had only _kissed_.

What had he done?

He didn't care. He just wanted more — he _needed_ more.

He attacked her lips again, noticing that they were as sweet to taste as he had hoped that they would be. He bit down and she moaned as he lapped at the blood. The salty taste of the blood mixed with her own sweetness, and Law fought his own moan.

If things continued in this way, he would not last long at all.

Well, not long for him.

It did not take long for her shirt to end up ripped open, exposing her breasts which Law immediately began to roughly massage. A chorus of moans came from her as he pulled her forward with one hand and pinched the hardened nub with his other hand. Her chest had already healed, but the blood remained. Although it was beginning to dry off, it provided a lubrication of sorts for his fingers as they deftly made short work of the moaning blonde in front of him. She seemed to be lost in the sensations, and Law turned to her neck instead, biting down roughly, leaving a trail of deep bruises until he found a particularly sensitive spot on her shoulder. There he bit with prejudice, fighting a groan as she wiggled underneath him. Blood trickled down from the wound.

"… C-Captain…" came her breathless voice.

Fuck, that voice of hers. From sarcastically angry to lustfully begging.

He practically ripped off her shorts, pleased that she had not worn underwear under them. He spent the briefest of minutes exploring her with his hands, testing to see if she was a clit orgasmer or not.

Judging by the increased volume of moans, and the violence with which she clawed at his back, she was definitely a clit orgasmer. He proceeded to administer his attention there with one hand, holding her close with the other and trailing bruising bites down her chest and around her breasts. Somehow his own pants were pulled down in the process, but he wasn't sure how or which of them had done so. After another minute, Law's fingers left her clit to a moan of protest from her before pulling her from the counter. He gave her no warning as he slammed into her.

This was like nothing he had ever experienced. There were already stars in his eyes, and they had barely started. He bit her opposite shoulder as he began pulling in and out of her, continuing to administer to her clit as he wrapped his other free hand around her back, pulling her close as he slammed in and out of her, setting a fast pace with the same intensity of the rest of this experience. She had lost as much control as he, managing nothing more than to drag her nails roughly against his skin and moan loudly. He pulled away from her clit suddenly, grabbing the discarded scalpel from the counter and roughly cutting her chest open as he continued to pound into her. She gasped again as the scalpel clattered back to the counter. Her grip threatened to bruise his shoulders as he lapped and bit at the wound, exploring it with his tongue. His hand returned to its administrations on her clit, and he pulled one leg up towards his shoulder. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and he knew he'd found the spot.

He continued to roughly fuck this blood covered woman, rubbing her clit, forcibly exploring her flesh with his teeth and tongue while she devolved into a sweaty mass of moaning and pleading.

Even if the ship was destroyed in that moment, he doubted he would notice.

There was no room for worry in his mind. He felt her shudder as she approached her orgasm. Honestly, he didn't feel far behind her. He leaned up, biting her neck again as she moaned his title again. He growled. That wasn't what he wanted.

"Say… my name…" he panted out

"Ah—! Ah… fuck… I … L-Law—!"

He groaned loudly, biting her hard as he increased his pace. He knew he was close.

She moaned loudly and her body went rigid for a moment. Her voice tightly whispered again, "Ah—! L-Law!" before convulsing with the intensity of her orgasm.

His name on her lips pushed him over the edge, and he came in her, also shuddering at the pure intensity.

If he was a lesser man, he surely would have passed out. As it was, he was practically laying on her, still on his bathroom counter and surrounded by a pool of blood. His pajamas were as ruined as hers were. They were both attempting to remember how breathing worked.

Fuck, why hadn't he done this sooner?

Shit, had it really happened?

Suddenly, he realized exactly what they had just done. There was no going back now. Something as simple as a kiss could have been explained away. It could have been forgotten.

But this?

Shit, he'd never even asked her. Fuck.

What if she hadn't wanted this?

There was laughter underneath him, and he managed to pull himself enough off of the young woman underneath him to gaze tiredly into her eyes. Her voice was breathless and low with sex.

"Jesus, Captain. I came in here for a bit of mutilation, but this was so much better."

He grinned at her despite himself. She sighed in contentment, running her hands through his hair as he rested his chin on her chest. Her back rested against the wall connected to his countertop. He regained some semblance of order to his thoughts. "… Visions?"

"Gone. Long gone. Hopefully never coming back."

He frowned at this. "Bad ones?"

She averted her eyes and spoke casually. "Oh… You know… the usual."

Law narrowed his eyes, and leaned forward to bite her clavicle. Hard. She glared at him.

"Fine. I meditated and things happened, and I was able to concentrate on one vision and get a bit more information, but then I was… distracted by something."

He stood up, leaning over her. He didn't speak, using his eyes to ask the question in his mind.

After a moment, she grumbled. "… It was the fucking tattooed man, alright."

Law frowned. "Tattooed man?"

"Yeah. Some guy with a really, ridiculously intricate tattoo on his arm. I see visions of him and his son sometimes."

Law froze. It wasn't possible. She couldn't still be seeing them… could she? It had to be someone else.

"I think that they're someone I've lost before. They remind me of… Of Samei…"

There was a pause, hers contemplative and Law's contrite. She shook herself then laughed lightly at herself. "Sorry, Captain. I guess I don't have the greatest pillow talk. Although this is hardly a pillow. Is it okay if I shower here?"

Law sighed. "Go ahead. I think I need one, too."

She grinned. "Hot sex and then a shower — tonight is shaping up to be a great night."

Law smirked. It was likely that if she stayed in his bed tonight that she would get more of that "hot sex." And she would stay in his bed tonight. If she was seeing visions of her former lover and son still…

Not for the first time, he worried that he had given her the wrong commands.

He would have to ask Shakky. They would arrive in Sabaody tomorrow. They had taken their time, choosing to stay in relatively safe deep waters to celebrate first.

At least Is didn't know who they were exactly. He didn't know what he would do if she found out.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is watched her Captain from the shower. He was so distracted he hadn't even noticed her jumping into the shower. She let him be. They had sex — they weren't lovers. They weren't dating. They never would.

He had a few different possible futures in front of him, but none of them involved a long-term partner. The most likely was that her Captain would grow old enough to be an older bachelor like many old pirates. Then he would die earlier than most people, like any proper pirate. The only ones he would leave behind would be his crew.

He would grow tired of her eventually. She hoped that she would grow tired of him eventually as well.

Even as she thought that, she knew she wouldn't.

She was well and truly fucked.

She sighed as she continued to scrub herself. He finally pulled back the curtain and joined her, before holding her from behind and pressing her against the wall, his teeth sinking into her shoulder. Is gasped at the mingled pain and pleasure, one arm reaching behind her to begin to stroke him. Surprisingly, he was ready for another round. She was mildly impressed, as it had been under 10 minutes since he came last.

Is grinned, eager to forget her melancholy.

At least it was a good fuck.

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Well. That escalated quickly.

Please drop a review - especially if you have critiques! Or comments. Or questions.

Of course, my ego is always happy to have you just drop a quick praise.

Thanks!

Jenny


	26. Chapter 26

When Law woke up, the first thing he noticed was that it was later than usual. The second thing he noticed was the naked body in his arms. Is was curled up with her back to him, sleeping with a contented smile on her face.

Law immediately felt smug. Damn straight she should be content. They had the first round on the bathroom counter. Then there was a round in the shower, then another on his floor, then another on the bed…

His smugness gave way to cautious consideration. This was getting dangerous. He'd never had so much lust for a single person before. Even if he had, he had always kicked them out of his room, and had never gone so many rounds. And it wasn't just the amount of lust he had — he had never fully lost himself in sex except in a few completely unrestrained orgasms. This… this was another level entirely. Doflamingo himself could walk in while he was fucking Is and he doubted he would notice. That thought made him clench his jaw, and he propped himself up to glare down at the sleeping form of the woman in front of him. Even as he did, his glare softened.

Fuck, it was nice to wake up to this. He slowly untangled himself from her and heading for the shower. Even though he had had one last night, with the amount of sex they had had…

Briefly, Law smirked at his image in the mirror. Is had left a plethora of scratches and bites on his skin, and unlike herself, he'd remained marked.

That thought irritated him, but he pushed it away.

Another thought crossed his mind that immediately soured his mood.

She still saw her son.

He glared at himself before turning away from the mirror and back towards the shower. The guilt was brought on every time that he remembered exactly why she couldn't remember the identity of the "tattooed man" or her son. He hoped that she'd never remember, that she'd never figure it out.

He decided abruptly that if she mentioned them again, he'd just fuck her until she forgot again. Fuck tattooed man. He didn't matter anymore.

He used the shower to scrub the remainder of the sweat and sex off of himself, before stepping out. He dressed quickly and quietly, leaving the night-lights on. He would take this opportunity to check on the crew. Surely by now they had arrived at Sabaody, and he admitted to being eager to have Shakky explain things to Is and finally wash his hands of this mess once and for all. Surely after having things fully explained to her, she would forget about the tattooed man, she would slowly stop seeing the visions. She might even become a normal person.

… Did he even want a normal person?

Fuck, he was fucked in the head. The thought of Is becoming _normal_ irritated Law. If nothing else, he hoped she retained her healing ability. How many other people could stab while fucking them and get away with it?

Law slipped out of the room and rubbed his eyes. Wasn't attraction supposed to subside after conquest?

Not for the first time, he felt frustrated and out of his depth. Maybe he'd slip away from Is while Shakky talked to her and mutilate a few pirates. Yeah. That sounded great.

Plus, they would need a new chore boy. Or girl. He wasn't picky. He'd have to keep his eye out for anyone of interest. Although the position was relatively easy to fill, he did have particulars about where crew members came from, and he would want someone who was okay with cleaning up his operating theater.

Maybe he was picky. Not too many people were okay with being a glorified maid and cleaning up various grotesque body parts.

But then again, there was definitely entertainment in the auditions. A smile creeped up Law's face as he remembered some particularly amusing past interviews with potential crew members.

There was a note sitting on his desk as he approached, clearly in Bepo's handwriting.

 _Captain!_

 _Sorry! We've arrived, but I didn't want to wake you up. We're waiting in the depths nearby the Archipelago._

 _Sorry again!_

 _Bepo_

 _PS: Have you seen Is? I thought she slept in her own room last night. Quilo said to not worry, but I couldn't help it._

Law folded the note carefully, his brows drawn together in thought. This was something that he would have to figure out. His crew members that hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary between himself and Is would want an explanation for why she hadn't moved to her own room yet. There was always the possibility of not telling them anything, but they would need to know where she was in case of emergency. Particularly with the level of passion involved, they would need to know, in some form or another, what _he_ was doing as well. Him having sex with someone had hardly been secret before, so there was no logical reason to hide the fact from his crew.

Except there was. Several, in fact.

The first being that any more teasing at the level of Quilo or James would make Law more murderous than usual. As much as they irritated him at times, Law had taken care to never direct murderous rage at his crew members — even if they sometimes deserved it.

The second being the fact that they didn't know her as he did. To him, she was a functioning adult capable of making her own decisions in sex. But to several members of the crew… she was still the same insane woman that they had picked up a few months ago. While normally Law frankly didn't give a shit about what the men thought about his bedroom habits, if they thought he was forcing himself on her, he might end up with a mutiny on his hands. Which meant that either he would have to hide this new… thing from them, or he would have to explain it more explicitly. Neither seemed like an appealing option.

There was also her reputation, but he gave very few shits about that.

Maybe he should speak to her. He could clarify what this was, if it would be anything at all. In fact, he probably should talk to her at some point before he made a decision regarding his men.

For now, he would keep it simple. She had troubles with nightmares last night. They didn't need to know anything else. Not yet.

He frowned when he realized that she didn't have any clothes in his room now — those on laundry duty would have delivered a clean uniform to her new bedroom last night, and her pajamas were sadly ruined by his… enthusiasm.

He turned to leave his office. He would find Bepo and have the bear bring her some clothes. He was good at being discreet when he needed to be.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

There was a young woman in front of Is. Her hair was in a short bob, and she held a cigarette casually in one of her hands. Although appearing relaxed, Is knew that this woman was fearsome when she needed to be. She also glowed. It was faint, and different than her Captain. His glow was ethereal in essence. There was a brightness to it, but not one that felt holy or godlike, just… special.

This woman was different. Hers was dimmer, almost tainted. Within the dim glow were tiny cracks, like veins running just under the surface. Is could sense a wrongness in the air, a wrongness that was both comforting and familiar to her. She knew immediately that this woman was important, and that she had met her once before. Like many dreams, the information ebbed and flowed into her mind leaving Is in total frustration. One moment she knew, the next she didn't.

She supposed it wouldn't matter in the end.

Abruptly, the dream ended, and Is knew she was awake.

When Is opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was that she was alone. The second thing she noticed was that she was naked. In a rush, memories from last night came flooding back. She stretched and smiled in full satisfaction, a feeling of comfort in her body that could only come from copious amounts of fantastic sex. She sat up, and assessed herself physically and mentally. The visions seemed of lessor strength than usual, as if they were ghosts of their formers selves. She still knew more than she was supposed to, she was sure, but the pure knowledge of everything wasn't weighing on her. It wasn't as painful.

At the foot of her bed sat a fresh uniform and some undergarments. She blinked, wondering when her Captain left to get her some new clothes. Slowly, she slid from under the covers and dressed herself while she thought.

Clearly, her Captain was far more attracted to her than she had thought he was. He was also just as talented as she had thought he was, but there was something much more. Compared to the brunette… no, last night had been several levels above the brunette. Much like his presence was comforting in a way nothing else had been, the sex was pleasing in a way she was sure no one else could even attempt to live up to.

How many people's touch felt like electricity?

Briefly she wondered if that was how sex would feel with someone who had eaten a devil fruit with electricity powers. Her mind conjured an image, and she immediately rejected the man. Damn, he was ugly. Ears were _not_ meant to do that.

She wondered if sex with Ace would have been warm. She supposed she might get her chance in a few years when Sabo ate his brother's fruit — well, that was if everything went well, anyway.

Would sex with Luffy just feel like using a dildo?

She shook the thoughts from her head and slapped her cheeks lightly, attempting to force herself to focus as she walked to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth.

Point was, she had slept with her Captain. Judging on the fact that they had gone multiple rounds and he _hadn't_ kicked her out, then there was the possibility that this might continue.

Could she hope? Could she dream that he might…

No. Sex was physical. Clearly, they both had physical needs that they could use each other to quench. She had been trying to figure out if she could find a time and place to jump Penguin, after all — this was decidedly better.

So. Keep it simple. She could do simple. Simple was great. Sex was great.

Damnit, she wanted to fuck him again. There were so many positions to try still…

She washed her face with cold water, purposely splashing a bit more water than necessary as she silently scolded herself. Point was, until they saw reason to stop, she could use him for sex, and vice versa. There was no need to make it any more personal than that. With that thought, she dried off her face with a towel.

"Finally awake?"

Is swore she jumped three feet into the air. But that strangled yell was definitely not her. Nope. Definitely not. She turned and glared at her Captain who was looking all too smug about… everything. Damn smugness. Is grimaced. "Shut up. I was tired."

"I could tell. Did I tire you out?"

"Go fuck yourself."

"All by myself?"

She blinked, realizing he was suddenly a lot closer than he had been originally, and knowing that this bathroom counter was quite comfortable for… She glared at him, placing the towel back on the counter. "Don't we, I don't know… have to do training or something?"

"Well technically both of us have somewhere to be."

She blinked. "… We do?"

He chuckled. "I told you before. There's a woman who will explain things to you in a way that I can't."

"Ah. Makes sense. You're pretty clueless."

He somehow took another step forward, the infuriating grin still in place. "That's not what you said last night."

She had a retort, she really did. His smug grin needed to be wiped off his smug fucking face. With her face. Using lips. And tongue.

And another round of sex.

Really, really good sex.

She didn't know how, but somehow the man had a tongue and hands so damn talented that she would become nearly blind with sensations, where whatever he was doing was so thoroughly distracting that she simply no longer registered anything visually. Somehow her recently adorned uniform ended up pooled at her feet along with all of her underclothes, and he lost his shirt. She managed to push back enough to start tracing his tattoos with her teeth, using the chance to take out her frustration on him with a few nips and bites in choice spots.

Fuck him for being so fucking perfect. It wasn't fair.

It was all his fault that she felt this way, she was sure. Normal attraction didn't include hatred, did it? She supposed that it did in…

In what? Something… something just beyond her reach.

Her lapse in control of her own thoughts was her downfall, as he roughly pulled her off of him, somehow losing his pants in the process. He bent her over his bathroom counter before lining himself up and entering, using one hand on her clit as he fucked her, his other hand pulling on her hair. He began to thrust in and out, not waiting for her to adjust to his size or the intrusion. He pulled her head to the side and began to bite her hard enough to draw blood.

Her eyes registered just enough through the intense passion to see the image in the mirror. She tried to fight the moan, but not well enough judging by the damn smirk on his lips as his tongue swirled around her bleeding flesh. She growled, pushing back into him and pulling his head towards her shoulder with a grip on his dark hair.

If he had enough lip to smirk, he had enough to bite her more. And biting was much preferred to smirking, as smirking made her want to punch him.

He chuckled against her skin, refusing to bite and instead switched to an agonizingly slow pace.

Fuck, that was not what she wanted at all. Even his hand on her clit had stilled. Desperate for friction, she ground her hips back into him. The movement gave her a taste of glorious friction in all the best ways, but it wasn't enough. She wanted more.

He planted infuriatingly light kisses on her neck and shoulders, his grip still firm on her hair while his other hand pulled her against him with every agonizingly slow thrust, his fingers barely grazing her clit. He leaned against her in such a way that she was forced to use both her arms to steady them against the counter.

She was going to punch him, she was sure.

But just as quickly as he had slowed, he picked up the speed again, slamming into her with more speed and strength than before. The sudden change almost made her head slam into the counter — for once she thanked the grip on her hair — before she completely lost control again. She couldn't stop his name escaping her lips as she approached her orgasm —

And he fucking stopped again.

He went back to feather light kisses and slow thrusts. She tried to turn to punch him, but he easily overpowered her.

The smug look was back. Her Captain was purposely showing her that she was not the one in control. Is glared at his reflection through her panted moans. The deep, slow thrusts may not have been what she wanted, but he had terrific aim.

Agonizingly perfect aim.

She wasn't going to punch him. She was going to kill him.

This time, when he started up again, he removed his hand from her clit. Which frustrated her beyond reproach. As a clit orgasmer, she knew that her own release would be difficult without some kind of friction down there, and the bastard fucking knew it.

He used his now free hand to pick up one of her legs, bending it to put the knee on the counter. Holding her by the hips, he used the nails of his other hand to draw blood on her back while he picked up the pace. Is lost all ability to protest as he somehow hit deeper. She was sure she was moaning, and quite loudly, but she didn't know what she said. At the height of her frustration, she attempted to fulfill her need for friction herself, but he swatted her hands away.

He slowed again, and she wanted to cry in anger and frustration. He leaned closely to her ear, grazing the shell of it with his teeth. She could hear a breathlessness from him that told her he was approaching his own climax. He bit down, and she moaned as the blood started to leak down her neck.

Fuck, he was talented.

This time, he touched her clit again as very slowly built up the pace. He lapped up the blood with his tongue, and the image in the mirror nearly sent Is over the edge — tattooed hands wrapped around her, the blood painting her flushed body and staining his lips in a way that was pure sinful pleasure, the lust in his eyes as he continued to thrust into her…

She began whispering his name, not sure what she was asking. She knew that her coming orgasm was a tidal wave that would swallow her whole. He said something, and she increased the volume on the nonsensical chant of his name between breathless moans.

She bit down on her lips to prevent the scream as she came. Stars covered her eyes, and waves of pleasure rocked her body to it's very core. The waves continued through her body, and he only increased his own pace as he approached his own orgasm. She didn't care. He could use her as much as he wanted so long as nothing stopped the intense pleasure. He orgasmed soon afterwards, and both lay panting and breathless on top of the counter.

Eventually, she came down from the clouds where she was floating. He pulled himself up first, and she stepped into the shower to rinse the sex off of herself. Her mind struggled through its fog.

What should she say? 'Thanks for the great sex, Captain,' didn't seem very appropriate. What had she decided again?

Right. Simple.

Is decided the best course of action was to talk about something else. She began cautiously, "So this woman you mentioned… she doesn't happen to have short brown hair and smoke a lot, does she?"

There was a chuckle before her Captain stepped into the shower to join her. "I assume you saw a vision?"

Is frowned. "Not quite. A dream. The visions have been a bit… uh… faded so far this morning."

Her Captain adopted a contemplative expression. She glared and shoved the shampoo bottle into his hand. "Stop trying to diagnosis me, Captain."

He flicked her forehead. "Don't order me around."

"But it's so much fun to piss you off." Ignoring his glare, Is paused before asking, "So what's her name?"

"Hm?"

"The woman."

"Shakky."

Is frowned. Shakky. Something just seemed… familiar…

Before she could figure out the connection, her Captain returned the shampoo bottle to her. Is shook herself slightly, annoyed that she couldn't figure it out.

Whatever. She'd see the woman in an hour or so, her questions could be answered then. Until then there was no use worrying about it. She scrubbed her hair instead. A glance at her Captain, and she could tell he wanted to say something. She frowned.

"… Yes?"

"… I suppose we should come up with rules for this… new arrangement."

A coiled spring of tension broke in Is, and she laughed. He had seemed so hesitant to bring it up — he was clearly out of his depth. Giggling, she nodded in agreement. "Alright, what rules do you propose?"

He switched with her, allowing her to rinse the soap out of her hair, plainly ignoring her poking fun at him.

"First, no sharing."

"I knew you were never good in the sandbox."

He flicked her forehead again, but this time it hurt more than before. Is glared, rubbing the spot. Her Captain was so juvenile as to use haki on his fingers? "… Really, Captain? That's dropping you down to Quilo level maturity."

"You earned it. Second, we remain professional outside of the bedroom. I am still your Captain, and I still require respect."

"Out of the bedroom. Meaning none in the bedroom. Got it."

"… You just want another round, don't you?"

Is grinned. "So, just two rules?"

He shrugged. "Do you want to tell anyone else?"

Is shivered. "Not a chance. Quilo has been dropping enough hints over the last few days that he doesn't need any more encouragement."

He paused while scrubbing his body before he continued. There was another frown to his face that told Is he had made a connection, figured out a piece to a puzzle that she couldn't see. Instead of addressing it, he moved on. "So you'd rather keep things secret?"

Is paused, frowning. "Simple is best. If they find out, they find out. But then again, it's none of their business. Like Couri and Quilo — most people on the ship don't even know that they're together."

Law grinned. "That is true. He'd probably be pissed if he knew you knew."

"To be fair, it's hard to keep secrets from me."

Something dark passed over her Captain's face, but it was gone before Is could tell what it was.

"You done?"

Is did an exaggerated salute. "Aye, aye, Captain."

"… Just turn off the water."

Is grinned at him before turning off the water. It was fun teasing him, so long as she only did so behind closed doors. It was interesting to note that his main concern had been keeping his reputation in tact — although she supposed he worked hard on his reputation, so that made sense.

Simple was best. Feelings complicated things. He didn't need to know that she equally despised him and loved him.

She gulped as she toweled herself off.

Fuck. The "L" word. But that's what this was, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is itched the beanie on her head. Shachi had given her a spare pair of sunglasses, and Minnow had given her a spare hat. Unfortunately, the heat of this island and a beanie did not go well together. The sweat was irritating her skin enough to make her continuously scratch, and the glasses kept on falling off the bridge of her nose due to said sweat. It was as irritating to her as it was amusing to her Captain.

Fucking Captain with his fucking smugness.

She munched on more apples from a bag that Couri had packed her. He had gone out of his way to avoid bowls with everything for her, and gave her a backpack with plastic or paper bags full of snacks for her to eat. Now that she was feeling better (and not seeing a dead Samei everywhere) her appetite was finally returning. Which meant unfortunately that her appetite was returning.

Last nights activities certainly hadn't helped. Her Captain had much too much fondness for blood. Kinky bastard.

The archipelago was beautiful and sunny, putting Is in a good mood as she munched on another apple slice from her packed lunch. She followed her Captain through the streets from grove to grove, interested in the fact that they were walking through the decidedly seedier parts of town judging on the number of brothels and gambling dens they passed.

Although she herself would be an easy target to the pirates and shady looking men in the corners of the room, the emblem on her back and a glance from her Captain seemed to ward everyone off. Even without his Nodachi (which Bepo had borrowed to take to a weapons smith for sharpening), he was an intimidating man.

He didn't know it yet, but his bounty had increased again — he was now sitting at a pretty 440,000,000 beris. She grinned as she followed him, excited to meet this Shakky and also to get to the next island. There was something fantastic about a republic that worked by the senators just murdering anyone whom they didn't like within their own government while somehow also keeping the streets relatively peaceful.

She munched on another apple and hummed to herself a song that she didn't know the lyrics to. She frowned as she hummed, wondering where she knew the song from.

"… Should I be worried, Is-ya?"

She blinked. "It's just a song I know. I think."

Law glanced over his shoulder at her, before concentrating in front of himself again. "Hm."

"Hm?"

"Yes. Hm."

"… Well if it helps, I have the feeling that the song is about something badass happening."

He smiled wryly, a mischievous look to his eyes. "Well then surely it must be about me and not you."

"Fuck you."

"In public?"

"… I really need to get more creative with my cursing now, don't I?"

"Probably. Although I'm not sure you're capable of being that creative."

Is trotted in front of her Captain before she stopped with a glare that she was sure would curdle dairy. She pointed a finger accusingly at her Captain. "I curse you to the fate of suffering the bites of the fleas from one thousand camels for all eternity!"

There was a twitch of his eyebrow and a tug at the corner of his lips that she read as both incredulous and highly amused — even if he didn't want to admit it. He said, "… Really?"

She laughed at the now exasperated look on his face. "See? I can be quite creative."

He continued walking, grumbling under his own breath. She followed him through the trees, wondering where on earth she had come up with that curse. It was a good one though. She planned on using similar ones in the future — they were far more effective than saying "fuck."

Well. Depending on the outcome that she wanted, she supposed.

She popped another apple slice into her mouth as a looming staircase came into view.

She stopped. Vague and disjointed memories came to her then, and she knew that this was Shakky's place, and that both her and her Captain had been here before.

"… Captain?"

"Hm?"

"… I… I think I remember this place."

He watched her carefully, his thoughts hidden behind his mask of indifference. In a way, she was envious — she knew that she was not nearly so adept at hiding her emotions. With a glance his way, she started up the stairs. Slowly at first, but something urged her forward and she started taking them faster, hopping up the stairs until she was taking them two at a time. Just as she reached for the door, it opened to reveal the young woman that Is had dreamed about.

She knew that the woman was older than she looked, but she looked young. There was the crackled veins of both luminance and shadow that surrounded her, almost whispering to Is. The woman did not look surprised to see Is, and broke out into a warm smile.

"It's good to see you again, Is."

A confusing swirl of information and memories hit Is, and she knew why this woman seemed so comforting.

"You're… Shakky? You're like me, aren't you?"

Shakky blinked, before looking back at her Captain who had made his way up the stairs with a bit more decorum. Is didn't turn to look at her Captain, too distracted with an influx of information.

Is spoke again, almost hesitant as a ball of anxiety seemed to grow exponentially in the pit of her stomach. "We're both… Not normal, right?"

Shakky nodded, a gentle smile on her lips. She took a step back, allowing them into the room and indicating a seat at the bar for Is to take.

"Come. Sit. I will explain. Would you like a drink?"

Is shook her head, stepping into the room and surveying it. Pieces of memories came to her, much like memories an adult may have about their childhood — memories that were confused with dreams and stories where only part of truth was known.

Words were exchanged behind Is, but she couldn't make them out. Even if she could understand the words from the hushed tones, her mind was too distracted to listen. Gingerly, she stepped forward to take a seat at the bar, placing her bag on the floor before sitting down, her earlier good mood evaporated as nerves settled in. She pulled off the beanie and glasses, setting them carefully on the bar in front of her before running her hands through her short hair in an attempt to tame the sweaty strands.

This place was important. She knew it.

Shakky would be able to help her.

Her Captain's hand touched her shoulder lightly, and he leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"I'm leaving you here for a bit, I have business to conduct in town. I'll be back in about an hour. Shakky has my number in case you need me. Know that however fantastical it may sound, I believe she is telling the truth."

Is felt a fog on her mind, a familiar sensation that instinctually told her what she shouldn't know. Her mouth opened almost of it's own accord, and Is allowed the words to pass quietly through her lips.

"I know she is, Captain."

She couldn't see her Captain's face. Instead, she swallowed and fiddled with her uniform, not sure where to look. The bell jingled as her Captain closed the door behind him, and there was the clink of a glass as Shakky placed a glass of water in front of her. While Is had been distracting herself with her internal monologue, Shakky had stepped behind the bar. Is looked into the woman's eyes, suddenly scared and utterly alone.

Shakky smiled at Isabelle, her expression matronly support. "I know you're scared, little one. I'm here to help. Mr. Trafalgar has told me a little of what has happened over the last week to you, and that you've lost your memories. Is that right?"

Is nodded.

Shakky took a drag from her cigarette. "I've lost mine as well. It happens when you cross dimensions."

Dimensions?

Shakky proceeded to give Is the same explanation as she had given her Captain over a month ago. Throughout the explanation, the fog continued on Isabelle's mind, telling her that this was the truth and not allowing her the chance to reject it; even though she wholeheartedly wanted to.

Shakky lit up a new cigarette, taking another drag before she spoke again. "Do you still see visions?"

Is nodded. "Will… will they go away?"

Shakky shook her head. "I don't know. You and I had very different experiences — you've been in this world a long time with your soul split into I'm not sure how many pieces. I'm not sure what consequences you'll experience."

Something clicked. Is looked accusingly at Shakky. "You haven't aged."

Shakky chuckled. "I have, but slowly. We do tend to live longer than the average person — heal quicker, be stronger and faster. Advantages either brought from our past lives or given to us to aid in our new ones."

When Is spoke again, her voice was barely a whisper. "But I can't."

Shakky's expression turned confused, and she put out her cigarette butt. "Can't what?"

Is gulped, unsure of how she was so certain. "I don't think I can age."

Shakky frowned, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a fresh cigarette. "… I honestly don't know. What I do know is that if the visions haven't disappeared by now, it's quite possible that you will always see things and know things that you shouldn't. It's also possible that you just need longer to adjust."

Is nodded, and something nagged at her from the back of her mind.

Shakky leaned forward, a knowing smile on her lips. "So. Trafalgar Law. He's quite the handsome young man, isn't he?"

Is frowned, confused at the sudden change in tone. "Yeah. I guess."

Shakky chuckled. "It is rather common for a guide and guided to form bonds beyond friendship. It's hard not to when you're connected on such a deep level."

"Connected?"

"I'm sure you've noticed that he has some level of control over you."

"… Yeah. He does."

"And the electricity when you touch."

Is blushed. "Y-yeah."

"It's because he's the one you were brought to protect."

"… I… I know that. But I…" Is took in a few shuddering breaths. The amount of information and the intensity of the emotions was threatening to overwhelm her fragile psyche. "I… I hate him. He said that he saved my life, and in doing so he stole my… my memories."

Shakky smiled again, reaching a hand out and touching Is gently on the shoulder. "It had to be done. It was the only way to heal your soul, Isabelle. Like I said, you can't be in more than one place at once. You were stuck in that in-between place, the place that we are not meant to go. Humans are limited — our minds and bodies can only process so much at once."

Is nodded stiffly. "I… I think I'd like to… to just think for a bit. If that's okay."

Shakky nodded, providing Is with the same journal and drawing pad that she had provided Isabelle's Captain with only a few weeks previously. She then turned, washing the dishes in the sink from that morning's few customers.

Something continued to nag at Is, and she closed her eyes. Taking in a deep breath, she repeated what she had done the night before — focusing on her physical body, sinking deep into mediation, and then allowing her mind to pick out the most important pieces.

Her Captain, the logical man that he was, believed Shakky's story. Is wasn't sure why, but she also believed Shakky. It was more than what the woman had said; she had a feeling that she couldn't willingly leave her Captain's side without severely adverse effects.

That spark when he touched her — it was her connection to him that sealed her soul together. If Shakky was right… she felt broken because she _was_ broken. And only the infamously cruel and cunning Trafalgar Law could fix her. Yet she had be broken for so long that not even Shakky knew if she could be fixed.

The longer that he touched her, and the more skin that he touched her with, the less broken she was and the less visions she saw. It was why the visions had appeared more faded today then usual, and the knowledge more subconscious. The only time that they had had as much skin contact than last night had been when Samei had died, and Is felt that his touch at that time only kept her from breaking further, rather than healing her.

Pain was less painful to her because, on some level, she both had a high tolerance and didn't accept it. She had trouble concentrating on what was real because she had clearly seen so many versions of reality that she wasn't sure what was real.

Until her Captain touched her.

Shakky couldn't help her. Only her Captain could.

This explained his glowing — it was her way of knowing who her guided was. Same with the electricity. He was chosen because he was an important and intricate part in the future that she was tasked with making happen.

The Beast. Kaido. Her Captain wouldn't do it, but unless he followed a specific path, the King who _would_ defeat Kaido would never get the chance. Is frowned, following her Captain's timeline in her mind. He had already saved the King, and already formed a bond. But it wasn't enough — there was something more that he needed to do.

She wondered if it had to do with the mountains. That vision had been particularly important to her for a reason.

So she was an inter-dimensional being — it certainly explained quite a few things. Such as the tattooed man—

The tattooed man. With tattoos too delicate and intricate for known technology in this day and age, and a son who constantly—

In a moment, Is realized something that shattered the fragile emotional fortitude she had built up.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law walked up the steps to Shakky's bar, a satisfied grin on his lips. Today had been a great day.

First of all, the sex. God, that sex — there was no drug that could live up to it. Law wondered if it had anything to do with the feelings he had for the seer, but suspected that it was most likely due to the bond that they shared.

Then he had finally connected said seer to Shakky, who would explain everything. At last, he would be able to wipe his hands clean of the mess. She would understand what had happened to her, perhaps make a friend, and become the useful asset to Law that he needed her to be. Furthermore, last night she had said that she had meditated and somehow found a level of control over her visions. Over the next few days, Law intended to use Shakky and his own connection with Is to explore the level of control she had over her visions.

Finally, after dropping off his seer Law allowed himself to wander the town. He had discovered his newly increased bounty, robbed a few fellow pirates, and even mutilated a few people.

It had been a long time since he had been this fully satisfied in his life. Even his emotional turmoil couldn't weigh him down now. He felt like he was on cloud nine.

He reached Shakky's Rip-off Bar, his satisfied smirk in place as he opened the door. There was the jingle of the doorbell as it opened and then closed behind him. Law spotted his seer seated at the bar, and fought a sudden urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her senseless. First, because Shakky was cleaning behind the bar. Second, because he doubted he had the self control to stop at a single kiss.

As he approached the bar, something felt off. Law frowned, stopping a few feet from where Is was seated and studying her. There was a tenseness in her shoulders that had increased from before, a rigidness to the way she held her glass that set off alarms in Law's head. His eyes narrowed slightly, his trademark grin swept away.

When she spoke, her voice was deceptively calm.

"Shakky, can you leave us alone for a minute?"

Shakky frowned, but nodded. She put the glass she was drying away, before leaving the bar and walking up the stairs. Law heard the distinct sound of a door shutting, and waited for Is to speak as apprehension began to claw at his chest.

For a moment, Is swirled the water in her glass around. The water swished around, painting the walls in dancing reflections from the afternoon light on the liquid. Abruptly, she placed the glass down and cleared her throat.

When she spoke again, her voice was forced, and cracked with each word. Law knew that she was crying even though she did not turn to look at him.

"Captain, how long have you known I had a son?"


	27. Chapter 27

Law remained rooted to the floor. Not even five minutes ago, the world had seemed so much brighter than it did at this moment.

Is finally turned to look at him. Hazel eyes shone beneath the tears, and Law could practically see her breaking. Instinctually, he took a step forward. Maybe if he reached out, if he touched her again, then maybe she wouldn't look so betrayed.

She slipped off the stool and took a step back.

"That boy that I saw, Law, the one that hurts me every time I see him… he's mine, isn't he?"

Law swallowed, unsure of what to say. He felt frozen in place.

She laughed hollowly, eying her finger as it traced the lines of wood on the bar. "I… I thought that his father's tattoo was strange, so I concentrated on them again. He looks so much like his father, you know… Brown hair, strong jaw." She meet Law's gaze again. "But he's got my eyes. My dimples. Even my freckles. I didn't think it was real, but…"

She took a breath, wiping a tear from her eye and sniffling before she continued. "But he was holding a picture. He was holding _my_ picture, and crying for his momma again. That's me, isn't it?"

It was not a question. It was an accusation.

A knot appeared in Law's chest. He forced ice into his veins. He needed to be reasonable. Shakky had told her everything, he was sure.

"You were dying, Is. Either you forgot, or—"

"Bullshit." Rage had replaced sadness. "You know I can't die."

Law snarled, taking steps towards her even as she backed away. He trapped her between himself and the bar, leaning over her as he hissed out, "I saved you, Isabelle. You may not remember it, but I did what I had to do."

She whispered, "So it's true. He is my son."

Law paused for a moment before he spoke again, steel eyes riveted on hazel, his tone forcibly even. "You were supposed to forget them and never see them again. Not even in your dreams."

She swallowed, shaking as he watched her visibly break again. She wrapped her arms around herself, crying again. Through strangled sobs, she spoke. "He's… he's my son. My baby. My boy. And I… oh god… I don't even know his name."

She looked back at Law. "You know, he thinks I left him. I've seen his whole life, and he thinks that I ran away because I hated him. He forgets everything about me except that. He never forgets the moment I _abandoned_ him."

Law swallowed as she cracked through the icy walls he had placed around his heart. He reached a hand out to touch her cheek, the electricity eradicating his barriers.

This fucking woman. Every time he thought he shut her out, she somehow, without even trying, managed to break through.

He was glad Shakky had left.

"Isabelle—"

"This is why I hate you, isn't it? That… that burning hatred of mine, where I feel like I will never forgive you, that burns in the depth of my soul — Shakky told me, she told me I'm here for you. If you didn't… If I… You're the reason. You're the reason they took me from my son."

Law clenched his jaw. He should have expected this, should have known to prepare for it. She punched his chest, but just like that moment on his bathroom counter so long ago, there was no strength to it. He had a feeling that she was incapable of hurting him physically.

She seemed to realize this, hitting him again with a cry of rage-filled frustration. A sob tore out of her lips as she tried to hit him again and again. Law allowed her to hit him, taking the punishment for what it was.

For the moment, he was as frustrated as she.

Eventually she seemed to lose the anger, gripping his arms as she shakily tried not to fall against him. Her voice broke again as she spoke, "I… I feel so broken, Captain. I don't… I don't know when he first laughed… or… or his favorite color… or his name… I-I don't know anything."

"Isabelle."

She sniffed.

"Isabelle, I've already told you, you need to forget him."

She pushed him away, the rage return. "Don't you see?! I have forgotten him! I've forgotten everything, and all because of you!"

He stepped forward again, his rage a match to hers as he grabbed her by the front of her jumpsuit. He seethed as he spoke, inches from her face. "You feel broken now, don't you? Don't you? Well tough shit. You will never be fixed. Not until you stop seeing them. So fucking stop. Don't make me order you to."

This seemed to break through her rage again. He released her jumpsuit, and she fell to her knees, her expression of grief-stricken realization. Law took in several deep breaths, cooling his incredulous anger at the situation.

He had ordered her to see him, and only him. He had ordered her to forget everything about that reality. And yet… and yet, despite that order, she still saw her son and his father — she saw enough of them to figure out the connection.

Would this be their relationship? He would break her, build her back up, fuck her, and then break her again.

He almost laughed at the irony of the situation. Not even a few months ago, that had been his exact plan. He had wanted to destroy this woman in every way possible. For a moment, Law thought about the common phrase of being careful of what you wish for, never feeling that the the lesson had been more apt than in that moment.

He crouched down in front of her, determined to end this. "Isabelle… You're broken because you can't accept that you will never see him again. You heard Shakky — she accepted this reality. She's happy now, glad to have forgotten."

Her lip trembled, and she shook her head. "I… I can't. How can I just accept it?"

Law swallowed, knowing that he was about to cruelly knock her down. "The same way you accepted the fact that Samei was dead."

There it was, that look of horror in her eyes. Law continued, unconcerned. "Isabelle, they aren't dead. They live. They move on. I know that you've seen them move on without you, you just can't accept that they do. Take comfort in the fact that at least your loved ones live long, happy lives."

With that, Law stood. He couldn't stay like this, with her breaking in front of him. Turning on his heel, he walked out the door with a jingle of the bell and shut it firmly behind him. Blinking, he looked back out at the sunny meadow that stretched in front of him, and scowled at himself before walking away.

He'd been a fool to ever think he could have been that happy. He should have known better. Fate had never been that kind to him before.

As he stalked away, he fantasized about leaving her there, leaving her and never returning. His life had been so simple before he had found her stowed away on that ship, a simplicity that he found himself romanticizing to himself even as he knew, deep somewhere within himself, that he'd never exchange her for anything.

He would, however, take a break. He had mutilated a few people, sure. But it wasn't even night yet. There were a whole lot more people he could dice up before he had to see her again.

He only hoped that when he did see her again, she would finally have forgotten Eric for good.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is had watched her Captain walk out the door. She wanted to follow him, to chase after him and just hold him for a while.

But no. She didn't dare. They weren't lovers. He did not love her as she clearly did him, nor did he care for her problems. The tears slid down her face silently as guilt tore her apart.

He was right. Both her son and her former husband lived long and healthy lives. Here she had been whining about herself, blatantly forgetting about what Law had lost in his own life.

She had been upset as a mother, unable to reach her child, and as a wife realizing that she neither remembered her husband nor had she remained faithful to him. Marriage was forever, and yet she didn't even know the man's name.

Nor did she care to.

Law was the only partner she wanted in her life.

And yet she hated him. She had cursed his very existence, blamed him for saving her, for helping her—

No wonder she felt dirty. She was filth.

Instinctively, she scratched at her arms, the tears slowing as she realized what she needed to do.

It was time to say goodbye.

She wished she knew their names.

What had he said? What had Shakky said? That she needed to fully accept this reality as her own, and reject her former reality.

Isabelle tried. She sat on the floor, focusing only on Law, telling herself that he was the only thing that mattered, that he was the only thing that was real, and that the boy and his father weren't real.

It didn't work.

The sobs broke through again, and an arm wrapped around her shoulders. Is turned and sobbed into Shakky's shirt. The older woman didn't say a word, even though Is was sure she was confused at this strange turn of events.

Even as she sobbed, Is tried to only focus on her Captain. To focus on him and nothing else, and hope that the boy and his father would go away. She told herself that they were figments of her imagination, that they weren't real, even that she hated them. Nothing worked.

Her sobs suddenly stopped, as she felt a presence that imposed so much force on her it crushed her mind. She opened her eyes only to be surrounded by the Shadows that she had come to fear.

They spoke no words, but Is knew what they said. Images flashed in her mind, each with the force of a ten ton sledgehammer.

Law was going to die. And they would not let that happen.

There was a ripping sensation, and Is supposed that she screamed at some point. It was the most intense pain that she'd ever felt, ever even imagined. Somehow, she knew that they had removed her soul.

And that this was not the first time that this had happened.

The pain did not stop. Instead, it only seemed to intensify as the weight of one thousand worlds cracked into her mind all at once. There was the voices of everything in every universe that seemed to pull at her all at once.

One in particular rose above the clamoring din, speaking softly in her mind.

 _"Focus on me."_

She knew who it was, even if she had no memory of him saying it.

 _"Everything you know about me, everything you've seen about me, that's real. That's your reality. Focus on it."_

Law. She needed to focus on him. Him and only him.

 _"I order you to focus only on me."_

So she did.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law stalked through the streets, one hand twirling his scalpel. If he had not been so preoccupied with his own rage, he might have noticed what was happening in time to stop it.

There was movement in the street, and Law stopped to glare at whoever dared to challenge him in his current mood. A boy stood in front of him, a short sword poised to strike. The boy couldn't have been older than 10 years, but his stance was strong. It was clear he had gone through serious training.

Law's eyes narrowed. Normally, he was adverse to killing children. But first, he was in a sour mood. And second, the boy clearly had significant amounts of practice under his belt — meaning that he had chosen this life in one way or another.

Then again, the boy could have been like himself — forced into the life.

Like Is had been.

Law held his scalpel firmly. "What do you want, boy?"

The boy's eyes narrowed. "Your bounty, of course."

Law scoffed. "Room."

No sooner had his Room started to form than the boy began attacking him. Even aware of his training as Law was, he was not prepared for the boy to move quite that quickly. He lost his Room in a sudden parry with the young boy that broke his concentration.

It was this break in concentration that would be his downfall. A manacle shot out from an alley and wrapped around his wrist and Law realized he'd walked directly into a bounty hunter's trap. A weakness went through his body, and he dropped to a knee as the sea prism cuff made short work of his defenses.

 _Shit, shit, shit._

Law immediately pulled out a mini den den mushi out of his pocket, barking a hastened command into it and raising the alarm to his crew that he'd been captured. There was protocol for this, and they would be here shortly.

From out of the alleyway came a young brunette woman that Law vaguely recognized from a bar on Tortuga. She had two swords on her hip, and her shoulder length, brunette hair was up in a simple ponytail. Law's eyes narrowed, wondering how on earth she had followed them here. She smirked at the pirate Captain, holding steadily onto the other end of the chains.

"Well, well, well. I was hoping to capture that cutie that was with you before as well, but I guess you'll have to do. Nibs, relieve Captain Trafalgar of his transponders snails."

The little boy started to try a rather thorough search of Law's body. Unfortunately for him, Law still held the scalpel. He waited for the most opportune moment, and then pulled the boy towards it, ripping into his eye sockets with the scalpel and blinding him. Then he turned to get the woman, but a muscular man tackled him to the ground and pinned his arms to his sides.

The man's voice was low and deep, clearly the authority figure of the group as he spoke the woman's name as a command. "Jena."

The woman nodded. "Do we want him alive or dead, Captain?"

The man chuckled. "Let's not be hasty. Make him tell us where the little lady is first. Jonathan, get Nibs treated. We'll punish this man in due time."

Law froze. His eyes widened upon realizing that this man and woman were not only after him, but after Is as well.

The woman wrapped the chains around Law forcefully, tight enough to cut off circulation to his arms and pinch the outer nerves as well. Law grimaced, attempting to shift himself in the chains — if left on too long, they would cause permanent damage to his arms.

She took the opportunity to punch him in the gut with enough force for him to spit out blood. He coughed, wheezing as he tried to breathe. As he wheezed, he dizzily tried to count the opposing force. It was roughly fifteen bounty hunters or pirates, he wasn't sure which. Their leader was someone Law had heard about, known as the Captain John, the Chain Gang Soldier — a bounty of 200,000,000 beris.

He hadn't even known the man was here, too caught up in his own glory, victory, elation and then anger. It was a mistake that might end up cost him dearly.

Jena relieved Law of everything in his pockets, dumping most of it in the street. Law glared at her as she dangled the scalpel just out of his reach before letting it fall to the ground.

"Oh, sorry, did you want that back?"

Law's lips curled into sneer as she cackled. That was his favorite scalpel — and he'd just had it sharpened.

This Jena, whoever she was, was now officially on Law's shitlist. He was going to kill her, slowly, brutally, and in every way she feared. His sneer turned to a sadistic grin, and she visibly paled.

Without warning, Captain John picked Law up before carelessly tossing him over his shoulder. Law grunted as the man easily began carrying him through a few alleyways until they reached an abandoned bar on the edge of the grove they were in. Once inside, he dumped Law on the ground, and Jena took the opportunity to kick him again, sending him flying until his back slammed against the wall.

Law coughed again, struggling to fill his lungs with much needed air. She may be a swordsman, but damn those kicks were serious business. His eyes darted around as he took in the darkened room.

Most of the furniture was serviceable, even if it was dilapidated. The room smelled faintly of beer and piss underneath the stench of mold and decay. Moss grew on the walls and counters, and the middle of the floor was broken up from the root of a tree breaking the foundation of the building. Law sat up, looking back at the woman he recognized. He spat out the blood in his mouth, leaning against the wall.

"You're gonna pay for what you did to Nibs, asshole."

Law smirked, then defended himself with haki from her blow on his cheek. Even with the haki, in his weakened state he would not last long if this woman was beating him.

She grabbed him by the hair, pulling him to his feet and holding him against the wall. "I know I saw you walking with her earlier. Where is she?"

Law spat in the woman's face. "I dunno who you mean."

She wiped the bloody spit from her face, a maniacal grin on her face. "You know, the hot one that can heal, and is damn good at eating a girl out."

Law lost his smirk, and the woman laughed.

"What, didn't you know? She was so much fun that night… so _hungry_."

The woman was taunting him. She had to be. There was no way…

 _Except she showered in the middle of the night. Law frowned. Why did she shower in the middle of the night? The room had been silent previously._

Law couldn't believe he'd been this blind. First he was going to kill this Jena, and then he would punish his fucking idiot of a seer.

Jena had a look of purring triumph as she leaned in close to Law, pulling out a blade. "Oh yes. That night in the bar, one of your men was so kindly telling us about how excited he was to get to Saboady for the amusement park… Then there she was, curled up in the booth with your people, hot as hot could be…" Jena licked her lips and nicked the skin on Law's cheek. Law did not flinch at the sting of pain as the blood began flowing down to his chin, dripping onto his hoodie. At least his hat remained on and blood-free.

"See, I found out afterwards that the Joker has a price on her head. It was easy enough to track you from there. She was a damn good fuck and all, and I'd definitely like to have her again, but this is a dog-eat-dog world. And this bitch is hungry."

She took the blade, poised to sink into Law's right shoulder. She smiled sweetly. "Now… If you tell me where she is, maybe we'll let you live. Your wanted poster did say that we could turn you in alive, after all."

Law had never been more furious. He smiled a challenge back at the woman in front of him, a promise in his eyes that made her sweat.

There was a crash at the doorway, and the woman dropped Law, swinging around with her blades. Law grunted as he fell on his ass, his chains clinking together. The sudden drop had finally moved said chains off of Law's nerves, and he breathed a sigh of relief when it was clear no damage was done. Law's eyes flickered over to the doorway as a sense of wrongness reached him, and he sat transfixed in horror.

It was Is.

But it wasn't.

Her eyes were solid black again, but it was more than that. The black spilled out into her veins, bending light and air around her body as if they were live snakes. Her head was tilted, looking at him.

No, looking through him. Law broke out into a cold sweat as air suddenly became scarce. Whatever this was, this… creature… it was not Is. It was not his Isabelle.

It was far, far older.

One of the bounty hunters ran at her, and she held a hand out. The tentacles of black burst from her skin, ripping her flesh and entering the man's chest. There as a strangled scream before he exploded from the inside, showering his seer in glorious carnage. Another bounty hunter screamed, dropped his weapon in pure terror and running to escape. In a moment, he was in the middle of the room with not-Is's hand wrapped around his neck. She crushed his windpipe in her hand, and he desperately struggled against her, clawing and kicking as anyone would do as the throes of death encroach upon you. Transfixed, Law watched as the snakelike black tendrils traveled up his nose and mouth. He struggled for a moment longer before there was a loud _crack_ , and he suddenly went limp. Pink ooze trickled out of holes the size of pinpricks all over his balding head.

Law used this opportunity to scoot over and steal the key for his chains from the terrified Jena's belt, and hurriedly tried to undo his chains. Unfortunately, this snapped the woman out of her daze, and she grabbed Law to use as a hostage, holding a blade to his neck.

"Oi!"

The being turned in Jena's direction, head cocked like a reptile surveying it's prey. Jena's confident voice faltered and cracked under the pressure. "That's right. I got your Captain. If you don't do exactly as I say, I'm going to—"

Suddenly Jena had released Law, and he grunted as he fell to his knees. Twisting to unlock the chains, they simply fell to his feet.

Law turned back to the being who was currently elbow deep in Jena's stomach. He could already hear the stench of acid as it poured onto her carnage covered arm, burning into Jena's insides. There was a strangled cry from the still alive woman, and she weakly tried to kick, her face contorted in blind terror.

He swallowed. This experience certainly told him exactly how those many piles of men ended up as they had.

Law rubbed his arms for a moment, working circulation back into his limbs and again checking for any long-term damage to the nerves. He swallowed as he realized that whatever it was that had possession of Is's body had not only saved him — but had done so with immense damage to Isabelle's body. It was rapidly disintegrating and forming again before his very eyes. Unlike before when she had been attempting to jump dimensions, this was the disintegration from the inside out, much like a container that was insufficient for whatever it held.

Would it kill her?

"Oi. Shadow."

The being looked over it's shoulder, the head swiveling all 180 degrees. Law could hear the breaking of Is's neck.

"You made her immortal, right?"

The being cocked it's head.

"Well release her. You've saved me. I'm alive. I want Is back."

The being's head turned to cock in the other direction, much like a dog. Suddenly a presence filled Law's mind, and he fought the urge to scream at the painful intrusion.

Images filled Law's mind, and he knew that the being was communicating with him. He fell to his knees with the force of it all as he tried to sort through the message impressed on him. Vaguely, he recognized that the creature was angry. For a moment, he thought he might have understood why.

Then it was gone, and a new message was being forced onto his mind. He bit his lip until it bled.

"So… you didn't… make her immortal. Or at least, it wasn't your… intention."

Is's body partially exploded and then reformed before his eyes. Then it disappeared behind him, killing another bounty hunter in a fit of animalistic violence. The man screamed as the creature pulled his arms off before gutting the man, pulling out his intestines as a child might pull a ribbon out of a bag. Law blinked, realizing that the man wasn't dead yet.

It would take several minutes for him to die.

Law stood shakily, addressing the creature again. "Look, I'm alive. I'm free. I can finish the rest of these guys — just return her soul to her body."

The creature looked back at him again, this time the head bending backwards until it was fully upside-down to see him. Law gulped before speaking again.

"I need my guide."

The creature grinned, and Law got the vague impression that it was having fun killing the people in the room. There was also the realization that this was not the true creature — it was merely a commandeered ghost, a puppet that the being was using to interact with the world it normally could not enter. An impression that he felt might translate to a few millennia since it had last had so much fun, but it was unclear.

The creature would only disappear when it had to.

Namely, when all of these bounty hunters were dead.

Law grimaced, grabbing one of the swords off of the dying Jena and cutting down a terror-stricken bounty hunter, expanding a Room out and pulling any others out into the open for easy disposal. After removing their heads from their bodies and attaching them to the ceiling, Law dispelled his room. There was a strangled cry from Is's body, and Law looked up as he cut into the last few living bounty hunters.

The skin was melting off of Is's face now. But only half of the face was melting. On her right side, the black of her eyes was disappearing, giving way to hazel.

Law stabbed another bounty hunter as he watched in morbid fascination. The two sides seemed to argue without words, and the Is side screamed and snarled in pain, much like a cornered animal. There was an intense increase in that sense of wrongness that filled Law with terror before the creature seemed to finally leave her body. With that and a shudder, Isabelle collapsed to the ground, landing on her knees with a loud _thud_. Law killed the last two bounty hunters with a final swing of the decidedly quality sword, as Isabelle stared at him blindly.

Law wiped the sword on one of the dead bodies, removing it's sheathe from it's former owner to attach it to his own belt and stepping forward to touch Isabelle's cheek.

There it was, that jolt of electricity just as intense as the first time his had touched her face, the one that made both flinch as it swept through their bodies. She blinked, and then began to weep and tremble.

"C-Captain… Only you, only Captain, only Law, one reality, only you—"

Stunned, he could only watch as she continued to incoherently mutter. She was still coated in blood, both her own and that of her enemies. He blinked as he tried to calm his own racing heart, and his mind cut through the fog of adrenaline as he set to prioritizing their next steps.

First things first — he needed to contact his men.

Reaching down, he gingerly took her hand into his own. "Isabelle, I see you. We're alive. We're okay."

She nodded fervently. He pulled her to her feet and led her out of the mess of guts and butchery. His grip on her hand was tight as he looked around and ignored the way his legs felt like jelly. Looking up, they were in Grove 11 — which meant his best bet was Grove 13.

Looking at Is, he held her hand. "Is-ya, we need to get out of here. We're going to teleport now. Do you trust me?"

She nodded her head quickly, and he extended his Room to use as a teleport system. He tightened the grip on her hand, and watched her carefully before teleporting them.

The teleport left her shaking and pale, clearly terrified. A chores of whimpered "no"s came from her, and her grip on his hand turned bone crunching. He touched her bloodstained cheek to calm her, and then summoned another room to repeat the process.

Six teleports later, they landed in front of Shakky's bar. The door was splintered into a thousand pieces, and Shakky stood at the top of the stairs behind them, watching the distance.

"Shakky," Law said quietly.

The woman whipped around, terror clear in her eyes. Terror switched to calm as she took in Isabelle's hazel eyes and her bloodied appearance. She sighed, then ushered them inside.

"You both owe me a door."

Law nodded. "I need a transponder snail, if you would be so kind."

Shakky nodded, entering behind the bar and pulling out a den den mushi for Law to use, and handing a towel to Is which she didn't appear to register. He immediately called his crew, alerting him that he was okay, but that they were to all return to the ship immediately and dive. He was in a safe house on the island with Is, and would call them when things died down.

The whole time, he never once released Isabelle's hand. Although visibly shaken from the teleporting, she was now watching him carefully. He hung up, taking the towel from Shakky and beginning to wipe the worst of the gore from her face.

"How do you feel, Is-ya?"

She hesitated. "… They were mad at me."

Law nodded. "I noticed."

Shakky took a drag from her cigarette, frowning in confusion at the both of them. There was a heaviness to the air that weighed on the trio, a heaviness that comes from having lived through terror before realizing that you have, indeed, lived. Law turned to the barkeeper. "What happened, Shakky?"

Shakky shrugged. "I heard you leave and her cry. I began comforting her, but after a few minutes she suddenly stood. Something was off, though. To be honest, the only thing that ever felt the same as _that_ was when I did my crossing — the things that pulled me felt similar."

Law nodded. "I think it was the same thing — that being that you mention that lives between your 'bubbles.'"

The terror passed through the woman's eyes again, and she shook her head. "The Force itself taking possession of her body…" Shakky took another drag. "I take it this is not the first time?"

"This is the first time I've seen it, but I suspect it has happened at least twice before."

"Hm. Well, the door disintegrated, and she vanished."

Law nodded. Is was blinking, and repeated softly, "… They were mad at me."

Law squeezed her hand, then turned back to Shakky. "Whatever it was, be it god, demon, or otherwise… it saved my life."

Shakky took a long drag from her cigarette as she considered the young woman sitting at the bar. "I've never heard of this happening before, of one of the fates possessing someone to save a guided."

Is tried to speak again, but only croaked as her voice was hoarse and tired. She cleared her throat before trying to speak again. "That's because they usually die. And the guides don't usually fuck up so much. Although I think I'd rather die."

The tension broke at the unintended joke. Law chuckled quietly. He pointed at some whiskey on Shakky's shelf. "Shakky, would you mind? I think I need a drink."

Shakky turned around to obliged him, and Law focused on what the bounty hunters had said — just as he feared, the Joker had placed a bounty on her head. He hoped that when he got the position of Shichibukai, his title and reputation would keep her safe, and maybe even put an end to Joker's plans for her.

And the whole thing happened because Is couldn't keep it in her pants.

"Is-ya."

She blinked slowly, turning to look at him. She was still clearly perturbed.

"… In Tortuga, you took a woman into your room, didn't you?"

The flash of guilt across her eyes told Law everything. He wanted to be angry at her. He should be furious at her for purposely going against his orders.

 _"That thing in your hand isn't pain. The shadows are pain. You don't know pain."_

That… intensity when the being spoke to him, that felt like his mind, body, and soul were being crushed, and the way that her body was continuously being destroyed and regenerated over and over again… If he felt that level of pain with the being just _talking_ to him…

His grip tightened on her hand, and he swallowed his pity for her. For the first time, he felt he understood a little more about the woman next to him. Just that taste had left his legs feeling like jelly, and yet Law knew instinctively that what he had felt was nothing compared to whatever the woman beside him had gone through over and over again.

There was no punishment that he could give to rival that which she had already been through.

The glass of whiskey appeared in front of him, breaking his concentration. With his right hand still gently holding onto Isabelle's, his left reached for the drink. His words were a soft command, more for himself than for her.

"Don't do it again."

She nodded, guilt awash on her face. Neither of them spoke again for some time, as Law sipped on his whiskey and tried to plan contingencies if Doflamingo came after her, and she tried to hide from the agonizing guilt in her chest as she sipped on a glass of water.

Both were utterly terrified of the monsters that haunted them.

/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

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You know you want to~

Do what you gotta do~

Even if it's a boo~

:P


	28. Chapter 28

Doflamingo sipped casually on his drink, an irritated frown marring his features as he glared at the report on his desk.

So. Law fancies himself a Warlord of the Seas. Which makes him untouchable.

At least for now. Doflamingo's glare gave way to a small, sinister smile. This was fine. He would give Law the reins for a bit, and the moment the brat started swinging his weight around, Doflamingo would corner him. He had certainly waited long enough for him to surface.

Doflamingo _would_ get the Eternal Youth Surgery.

However irritating his former protege was, his promotion was not the source of Doflamingo's current bad mood. No, the source was none other than a photo currently held in his hand.

A photo of his slave.

When Doflamingo had first heard that Law had possession of his missing slave girl, he hadn't been concerned. In fact, he had long since lost interest in the raving woman as anything other than something to take his anger out on. Originally, he had hoped that by having her around, she would drop more hints like on that first meeting — but she had only gotten more unintelligible. Nothing he did had ever brought her the same clarity as that first day. Even sex with her lost it's thrill when she didn't seem to notice he was touching her.

There was a muffled noise coming from the direction of his bedroom. The corner of Doflamingo's mouth twitched before he resumed his musings.

He had put a reasonable bounty on her head to spite Law. The boy had taken something that belonged to Doflamingo. Even if he didn't particularly care for it, she was still his property.

But this? This changed everything. The photo wasn't of particularly great quality, being slightly out of focus, with a lens flare that partially obscured it's contents. Even with its faults, the image of his slave was clear enough. Eyes bright, clearly conversing, and following Law through the Sabaody Archipelago.

Another report had come in since then, confirming that the girl was more than aware of Law — she'd become lucid.

Law had done something Doflamingo hadn't been able to do in five years. Which angered Doflamingo. He wanted her. It was bigger now than pissing Law off — now it was personal.

Doflamingo never came second.

He placed the photo down on his desk next to the report of Law's promotion. There was another muffled noise. Lost in thoughts as he planned his next steps, he stepped into his bedroom.

He would have to be careful. With Law becoming a Shichibukai, taking his slave back would require more finesse. If he wanted to avoid trouble, Doflamingo would have to make sure that he wasn't connected to her kidnapping and disappearance from Law's side. At least, not yet.

For now, he'd take down her bounty. It was moot now, and too directly connected to himself. Doflamingo would wait and take her back when the time was right. Until then, he had contacts in the underground that would watch his slave more thoroughly. He wanted to know exactly what had changed.

Glancing at the occupant on the bed, he rested his drink on a shelf before undoing his pants. His irritation at his old slave would at least have an outlet in his new one.

His grin turned sinister at the look of terror in the woman's eyes as she tried to struggle out of the strings that held her to the headboard. Doflamingo chuckled. When Law and his slave were at their most comfortable, he would take her back. He looked forward to the look on Law's face when he did.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law glanced at the sleeping woman next to him, head resting on Shakky's bar, lips parted as she lightly snored. Is had become almost narcoleptic since being possessed, falling asleep anywhere that she sat down at. Between that and her insatiable appetite, Law could tell exactly how much damage the Shadow had done to her body.

Even when asleep, she seemed to have a radar on him. She would wake up if he ever tried to leave the room.

Not that he'd really tried to. If he was completely honest with himself, he was almost possessed with anxiety whenever he considered leaving her side. Having met the monsters that terrorized her, he was suddenly thrust into the unfamiliar territory of being completely sympathetic with someone who had suffered immensely. He had become utterly convinced that no one else could possibly take care of her like he did. Not even Shakky.

Which amused the older woman to no end. Much to Law's chagrin.

Said woman stood cleaning a glass in front of him, a wry, knowing smile on her lips as her eyes danced with mischievous delight. "She's not going to disappear, Mr. Shichibukai."

Law glared, not dignifying the woman with an answer. The flying bat messenger had come two days ago, the day after the Shadow possessed his seer. His crew was now staying nearby, but Law had opted to stay at Shakky's bar for two reasons.

First, having now encountered a Shadow, there was an unspoken bond between the three who now sat in the room. Second, Shakky and Is had been working on her meditation over the last few days. There was a definite increase in some sort of control, almost an ability to focus on particular visions for more information. Third, here there was some relief from the Joker's spies as Law waited for his reaction.

"Whiskey, please, Shakky."

The woman turned to pour Law a drink. There were a few other patrons here now, including the Flying Fish Riders (who irritated Law to no end, but after a few glares they at least left Law alone), but the bar was still relatively quiet.

The glass appeared in front of him, as well as a slip of paper. When other people had appeared, Shakky had begun communicating via paper to avoid notice from others. Law had a great deal of appreciation for her discretion, as he never even caught the woman writing the notes, nor did he see how she got the information she gave him. Maybe she had been a ninja in her past life.

He murmured his thanks, and palmed the note to read later. He glanced back at his sleeping seer, contemplating kicking her off the stool she sat on to wake her up. Just as quickly as the thought ran through his head, he pushed it away. She needed the rest.

Despite her exhaustion and hunger, Is seemed to have come to terms with her demonic possession in the most light-hearted way. She had waved it off as being a part of the job description and joking about the shitty pay. Every now and again, he would catch her glancing over his shoulder with a light glare, but when he caught her eyes she would just laugh about the "bosses checking in."

Which of course did nothing to quell Law's anxiety. She seemed to have completely accepted the fact that there were demonic gods that had fucked her over in more than one way, while he was left wondering if suicide was a viable option.

Swishing the drink in his hand a little, Law took a sip of the whiskey and savored the taste. Shakky always gave him the good stuff. He took another glance at Is sleeping beside him.

At least she smiled now. He would never admit to anyone how relieved he had been when she began smiling, even though he knew it was partially forced. He just couldn't tell _why_ it was forced. Was she more disturbed by the Shadow that she had let on? He doubted it. She was a terrible liar, and he believed she had honestly accepted the Shadows. Terrified as she was, she accepted them. There was the possibility that it was her realization that he had made her lose her son, but Law refused to bring up that subject himself. Guilt about the "Jena" incident? Again, possible. She was the type to beat herself up for mistakes like that, especially since that one nearly cost him his life. Although to be fair, "Jena" probably would have come after his bounty regardless of his seer sleeping with her. It just irritated him that she had.

If nothing else, it was possible that she had been through so much at this point that, much like himself, her smile would always be tainted with the scars she had suffered.

He forced his thoughts away from her. As he reached for his glass again, he read the note that he had palmed from the bartender earlier.

 _Her bounty is retracted._

So much for thinking of something else.

Law carefully kept his face even as he took in this new information. This was Joker's reaction to his new promotion, the same reaction that he had originally hoped to illicit. He could breathe a sigh of relief. She was safe.

But he didn't. Not yet. Something smelled fishy. Joker would never give up so easily.

It would mean that bounty hunters would not go after her again, sure, but it didn't mean that Doflamingo didn't had a plan of some kind. He could be watching her, he supposed. But to what end? He took a glance at her and another sip of his drink.

From now on, she would not be leaving his side. He couldn't risk Doflamingo taking her from another crew-mate. He didn't want another Samei on his hands.

Is shifted slightly in her sleep, a small frown on her face while she whimpered quietly. Law slowly placed the glass on the counter before reaching to stroke her hair. He barely registered the other people in the room, as he was too absorbed in the sleeping seer.

Was she having a nightmare?

Whatever it was, Law's touch chased it away. Her frown softened into a tiny, still asleep smile. Something light and bubbly permeated Law's chest, and he realized exactly how deeply involved he was now.

He was totally fucked.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is munched on her crackers while she waited for Bepo to finish his meeting with Law. They sat at his desk discussing possible routes they could take to continue dicking around before heading to the New World, while Is lounged on the couch.

Law and Is had finally returned to the sub this morning, and the crew had excitedly regaled her with tales of all of the enemies they had defeated in her name. She laughed at their exaggerated tales and dramatic flair, but she knew for a fact that the Chain Gang crew had been brutally murdered by her Captain's crew.

Her crew.

She had the best friends.

Bepo and Law were hunched over some maps in the bright light of his office, discussing various currents and routes, and the different eternal poses that they had in their possession. Turns out that Bepo was quite the collector of eternal poses. And he had bear sense, which meant he knew a storm was coming before anyone else. Except maybe Nami, but Is didn't want to burst his bubble.

Is was relieved that they had returned to the sub. Within the confines of the sub, there was a sense of safety. She didn't need to follow her Captain everywhere, although she had a feeling that if she really needed to, she could find him quickly. Maybe the Shadows were whispering to her again, but she always knew exactly where he was.

Within reason, of course. She hadn't given herself the chance to test how strong of a sense it was.

There was also a peace that had settled in her heart now, an understanding that she didn't have before. She was there to protect her Captain, and so long as she did that the Shadows would leave her alone.

Besides, even if they didn't, there was nothing she could do about it short of just making sure he was never in that much danger. Soul-ripping was serious business with unknown consequences. She was _not_ looking forward to immortality.

He glanced her way, and Is grinned at him. When he turned away, her smile grew tight as a certain heaviness came back.

She loved him. Well and truly. She would do anything to protect the man in front of her, even if that meant having her soul ripped out. Although she would much rather not.

The seer moved onto pears instead of crackers, ignoring the various visions that occupied the dead space in her mind as she zoned out. Is sucked the juice out of the pears, closing her eyes to the aroma of it. Sweet things were the best.

A tingle came on the top of her head, and she opened her eyes. "We'll be taking off soon, Is-ya. We're headed to Roches next."

She nodded, closing her eyes and trying to concentrate as she had been practicing. The tingle left her head, but she heard a few quiet whispers before a door opened and closed. Bepo had left.

There was a myriad of different images that assaulted her senses. For the most part, they were unrelated, or just didn't stand out to her. Well… except the senator in the sheer silk robes. Well now. She giggled, thinking of her Captain in those same silk robes, lounging and eating grapes like a king.

"… Is-ya," growled her Captain.

She opened her eyes to see the eyebrow twitch of her Captain as he leaned against his desk. "Nothing, just thought of something funny."

"And?"

"It'll be rough and tumble, but not terrible. The sheer look is great. You should try it."

For a moment, her Captain just stared at her. Is realized with a start that they hadn't had sex since they left the sub — she was always asleep by the time he finished brushing his teeth.

But now here they were, alone in his offices. Her grin turned impish, and she winked at the man who was leaning casually against his desk. He glared back, and turned towards the door.

That wasn't what she expected. Maybe he'd lost interest in her.

Fuck, if he'd lost interest—

There was a click of a lock as the mechanisms fell into place. Is blinked before recognizing the look in her Captain's eyes.

"I'm not wearing a sheer toga, Is-ya," he said as he stalked towards her.

"Ah. I uh… guess not." Did her heart always beat this fast? Maybe she was going to die of a heart attack. Death from sex. That would be a good way to go, she supposed.

Right, can't die, forgot.

Then his lips captured hers, and everything else gave way to electricity. Sitting on the couch next to her, he pulled her into his lap and used a grip on her hair to dominate the kiss. Is let him take control as the sensations overwhelmed her, and she left coherent thought behind.

Then he stopped. Is bit her lip to hold back a needy moan, and opened the eyes she didn't know she had closed. He was looking over his shoulder, saying something.

"—be right there."

Wait, be right there? But that meant—

He gently pushed her off of his lap, and went to stand, and irritated scowl on his face. Footsteps retreated from behind the door, and Is realized that she was just cock-blocked by the crew that she loved so well.

Fucking crew members.

Was it cock-blocked, or box-blocked? Vagina blocked? Clam Jammed? Taco blocko? Damnit, now she was hungry _and_ horny.

Her Captain unlocked the door and exited without another word, clearly as irritated as she was.

Well, at least Is could solve one of her problems. Well, _technically_ she could solve both, but it wouldn't be nearly so satisfying. With a sigh she got up, ran fingers through her hair and headed down to meet Couri in the kitchen.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law finally finished up with meeting all of the crew members of the ship after returning to the sub. Shakky had given them a sweet farewell, as well as a bottle of high quality whiskey for Law as a parting gift. That, and a few words of wisdom.

 _"She'll be fine, Mr. Trafalgar. She's tougher than she looks."_

Law glared at a wall as Shachi and Penguin discussed the state of the engine room. They thought they might have found a solution to the heating problem. It would still be hot in the sub, but not quite so stifling.

Bepo was sulking a bit in his room. The island they would be going to next was a summer island, bright, warm, and humid. Exactly what Bepo detested. Between that and the sub, Law expected the mink to be spending a lot of time in his Freezer, even if Bepo normally avoided that place like the plague. Something about having a sensitive bear nose.

And Law knew that Is was tougher than she looked. After a day to get over the shock of possession she was already joking about it. Blood and guts never bothered her. Hell, she actively enjoyed being mutilated. Logically, he knew all of this, yet still he was quickly becoming a mother hen. He was already itching to find out where she was, what she was doing, and who she was with.

"… Captain?"

Law took a deep breath, a forced the annoying seer out of his mind. His obsession was becoming ridiculous. He blamed it on the fact that he was cock-blocked earlier. That was definitely the problem.

It was certainly not his damnable feelings getting the better of him.

"Your reasoning seems sound, as do your calculations. Make the adjustments we've discussed."

"Aye aye, Captain!" said Shachi, with an added salute. Under Law's icy glare, he dropped his hand, muttered a goodbye and began to leave. Penguin hesitated.

"… Captain?"

"Yes, Penguin?"

"Did something happen between you and Is?"

This would take some careful stepping. Law eyed the young man, trying to decide if it was genuine concern and curiosity, or if he knew something. He spoke slowly, keeping his voice calculatingly level. "Why?"

"Well… I mean, you guys spent three days held up in your safe house and away from everyone, and you've seemed a bit… off, since you got back. Antsy."

Law sighed. Genuine concern it was. "It was just bounty hunters, Penguin."

Law picked up his sword and began to leave the room, wondering where on earth his seer might have gone to.

"They were after Is-chan, weren't they? That's why you hid, isn't it?"

Law paused.

"Captain, we have a right to know if our friend is in trouble."

What could he say? None of them knew that she had belonged to the Joker, or what his original motive for even bringing her on the ship had been. He couldn't explain any of it without getting them involved, and that was before he even began talking to them about the alternate dimensions, or the Shadows-Gods that haunted his nightmares, or the fact that he twitched uncomfortably unless she was in his arms.

Maybe he was going mad.

In a single moment, Law felt completely alone. And for the first time in a very long time, it brought no comfort.

It hurt.

 _"How do you know what you see is real?"_

Law clenched his jaw. He could worry about existential doubts later.

"Her former master sent some bounty hunters after her. We've since reached an understanding. That's all you need to know."

"But—"

Shachi stepped in. "Penguin, she'll be alright. Come on, or will miss out on dinner."

Law left Shachi to console his friend, and made his way out into the hallway. It had now been four hours since he had last seen the seer, two hours since they had departed from the Archipelago. And he wanted to see her.

Because if she was there, then all the ticks, the doubts, and questions in his head would disappear. At least around her he felt less insane.

Although that was hardly an argument for his own sanity.

He judged based on how long it had been since she had been gone from his side that there was only one place she would be — the training room with Quilo. It didn't take him long to reach the door he needed, and he pushed it open gently, eyes sweeping over the room until he found the object of his affliction.

There she was, covered in gore and ruined training clothes that Shakky had given her. There was a distinct improvement in her fighting style that Law could only attribute to being both a quick study and a natural. Quilo had added a couple more basic blocks and counters to her repertoire, and drilled those basic moves relentlessly. He was a firm believer in repetition creating mastery, and Law agreed.

Law closed the door behind him, moving to lean against the wall and watch quietly for a moment. She was focused on the fight between her and Quilo, but Law had a sneaking suspicion that the young woman was fully aware of where he was.

There was something else. Compared to her beginnings a few short weeks ago, she was more fluid. Graceful. Even as she was covered in her own blood. Law crossed his arms, watching her carefully and observing her every movement with rapt attention. It calmed him. One by one, the doubts began slipping away. The feeling of loneliness no longer bared down on his soul. Here was a woman who not only understood his every circumstance, she had overcome her every obstacle with a cheeky smile and quick retort.

Damnit, he was fucked. The moment the crew got word of exactly how far he had fallen for the young women, there were a few possible outcomes. If they believed he had forced himself upon her, it would cause a mutiny. Judging by the ring of people around the ring egging her on against Quilo, it was unlikely. Second, there was the possibility that they would think that Law had become weak and either abandon him or lose faith in their Capitan. Not to mention what it would do to his reputation.

Then again, in terms of women he could have fallen for, she would more like help his reputation rather than hinder it. The blood-covered look would terrify the average person.

Then there was the most-likely possibility — that the gossipy mother-fuckers would tease the shit out of him.

Honestly, Law couldn't decide which possibility was worse.

She managed to almost hit Quilo, but with unnatural speed he dodged the hit last minute and countered with a kiss to her cheek that left her sputtering indignantly, while her crew mates howled with laughter.

One of them broke away from the group to stand next to Law against the wall.

"Captain."

"James."

The older man leaned against the wall next to his Captain, his eyes focused on the cheering crew members and the bloodied Is. She had retaken her stance, but Quilo had increased his speed and knocked her on her ass. If looks could kill, Quilo had been murdered several times over by now.

"You're smiling, Captain."

God fucking damnit, he was. She was angry and blood covered, so of course he was smiling.

"Yeah. Killed a lot of people. She's improving. Life is good."

"I agree. It's been a good last few days, particularly now with you two back home. She was missed, you know."

Another smile tugged at the corner of Law's mouth. Naturally, he mentally bludgeoned it to death and fixed his face to be more stoic.

"I'm sure she was."

Quilo paused their practice, handing the young woman a towel before stepping towards the water fountain. Is began wiping some of the blood off of her face, much as a normal person would wipe the sweat.

Fuck, that was hot.

She trotted over to Law, and he fought the urge to lick the blood off of her.

"Hey, Captain! Did you see that! I'm improving."

"Improving at how quickly Quilo can knock you on your ass."

Is glared at Law, and his trademark smirk tugged at his lips. "He's a million times more experienced than me. But now at least I might be able to fight some low-level thugs."

Law raised an eyebrow. "You think that highly of yourself, then?"

She visibly deflated, and then pouted. "… Fine. I'll just… go back and practice."

"Is-ya."

She glanced back over her shoulder with an irritated scowl.

"Good work."

She blinked for a moment, before grinning again. "Thanks, Captain!"

There was a pause between the two men. Then James spoke quietly, "… So… Nothing going on, huh?"

Law pushed himself off of the wall, gripping his sword tightly, but not removing his eyes from the training session in front of him. "If you have enough breath to talk, you have enough to spar with me, James."

The man laughed before walking to the weapons rack to pick out a pair of practice weapons for them. Law considered that he was lucky. At least James knew how to keep his mouth shut.

And when Is finished with her training session, there was nothing saying that she had to wash the blood off alone.

/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

Hopefully more updates will be coming for ya'll swiftly. Thanks for the support! Remember to drop a review! I like to know your thoughts. :)


	29. Chapter 29

Is blinked slowly as she woke up. As usual, the bed was empty. Her Captain was in the next room, probably going over reports and planning out his next moves.

Which left Is alone momentarily.

Almost.

"You know, this whole thing would be a lot easier if you just told me where I'm supposed to guide him."

As usual, the Shadows never responded. She leaned against the headboard, ignoring the dead bodies of various people around her and focused on their destination instead. They would reach it later today.

The entire country, although not active on the world black market, was run by underground gangs, riots, and a lot of stabbing of political opponents. It was no Tortuga, which was a pirates paradise, because Roches had the odd juxtaposition of being run by the extremely corrupt, yet maintaining relative peace inside the cities. There was a little more thieving than an average city, and a bit more organized crime, but the crime was… organized. Ordinary people rarely felt the effects of even the most widespread riots.

The gangs were surprisingly good at government, even with lots of stabbings during parliamentary proceedings.

Still, there would be plenty for the boys to get in trouble with on this island. Shachi in particular was going to be robbed — three times. The pickpockets in this town were incredibly skilled.

Should she warn Law? The amount that would get stolen was barely pocket change to him and his crew, and it was clear that the kids that targeted them were hungry. Is blinked, looking at one of them at the end of the bed as she hadn't brought back enough to her gang leader. The man hit her, and Is bit her lip. No way she was going to tell Law. The money they stole would—

And that's when it happened. Transfixed in total horror, Is watched as the girl was raped. Is closed her eyes, tried to look away, tried to focus on something else, anything else. Even as the image changed, the screams lingered in Isabelle's mind.

She was only a child.

Is ran to the bathroom and vomited in the toilet. Like a living nightmare, the scene repeated, giving Is background for the situation that befell these orphaned street children.

The gangs had left the laws so that there was no such thing as an age of consent. Often, young women were married as young as twelve. Again, Is shuddered. These were images kept secret from visitors. Not even the World Government could possibly turn a blind eye to child prostitutes.

Could they?

Is could bring it out into the open, change the—

An image was forced into her mind, and she shuddered involuntarily. Clearly, she was not supposed to interfere in this matter. Or at least, not according to big, dark, and scary—

Wait.

It spoke to her?

She glared at the arbitrary spot on the wall where they seemed to appear as she rinsed her mouth out.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me. They are _children_."

Another impression came through, and Is realized that the being didn't care. That these… _children_ weren't important.

Is had never felt so helpless before. Or so dirty. There was no way that she would comply—

But she knew. Even if she tried to stop it, to put an end to it, the demons that haunted her would just pull out her soul for a few days. Which would be… unpleasant. She had no recourse. No control.

The image came back stronger, along with a few others, this time with more force and a clear threat.

Is left the bathroom to hide under the covers, no longer willing to face the world. Instead, she tried to focus on happy memories, or on Luffy and his crew. Anything that she could do to distract herself, and to pretend none of this had ever happened.

Knowledge was a double edged sword.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

It was a few hours of very unsuccessful attempts to distract herself through both visions and self-inflicted pain before Is felt numb enough to face the world. She threw off the covers and opened the door to Law's office, utterly disturbed by the turn of events so far this morning.

As she had thought, Law was going over reports on his desk for all that his crew had learned while at Sabaody. Even though it had been a few days since then, he still was playing catch up.

Is sat down at his feet, wanting nothing more than the comfort of his touch. She leaned her head on his thigh with a sigh, hiding her face in the fabric of his jeans as she hoped to chase the memory of the vision away. After a moment, he ran his fingers through her hair.

"… You're naked, Is-ya."

Is looked down. So she was. "Well its not like you haven't seen it before."

Law snorted. "Is-ya, what's bothering you?"

What could she say? She had a feeling that being explicit wouldn't be allowed. "Just… vision stuff, okay? Nothing that affects you or the crew."

Law sighed. He put down the reports, and tugged Isabelle up so that she sat on his lap. "You're lucky that I've made a habit of keeping the office door locked," he grumbled.

She leaned against Law's chest. "Yeah… I know."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Did she? Did she want to talk about it? The fact that she was now beginning to receive direct communication from the demons that haunted her? That they had arbitrarily decided that one person's life had more value than another? That she had just witnessed the raping of _children_? That she knew far more than any one person should ever know, and the weight of it all would eventually crush her because one day Law would die, and she would be left utterly alone?

That she was effectively useless?

Vulnerable. She felt vulnerable.

"Nah. It's going away now anyway. Wanna have desk sex?"

The chuckle was from deep in Law's chest. Is kept her face hidden for a moment longer. Maybe, just maybe, she could pretend she hadn't seen it.

Who was she kidding? This went against every moral fiber in her body. She would find a way to help them, even if it was only one child. Something. Anything.

The Shadows could go fuck themselves. In the meantime, she was going to distract herself the only way she knew how.

"I have work to do, Is-ya."

Sliding off Law's lap, she tugged down on his zipper and refused to make eye contact. "Then you work. I'll be just fine down here."

Law opened his mouth to protest, but it gave way to a groan when she began stroking him with the tips of her fingers. She pulled his chair closer, so that he would be close enough to his desk to work on his reports while she sucked him off.

Somehow she doubted he would get anything done. That was fine. He worked too hard, anyway.

Maybe, if she teased him enough and he fucked her hard enough, she would be able to close her eyes without seeing that little girl again.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law adjusted his Nodachi on his shoulder as him and Is wandered through the town. The weather was hot and humid today, and some of his crew were splashing around in the waters on the beach where they had docked the sub, while Bepo tried his hardest not to overheat. Law had left them to their own devices to wander through the town's bazaar and marketplace, one that seemed to be Couri heaven with it's numerous spices and exotic looking foods. The toga-wearing people seemed quite happy in their clothes, although Law avoided looking at the sheer fabrics on the men. Strangely enough, women did not wear the sheer fabric, although Law found himself imagining Is parading around in the see-through clothes and understood why a lot of the women didn't.

Actually, come to think of it, there were far more men then women out shopping in the streets.

Law kept one eye on the young woman following meekly at his side. Whatever she had seen yesterday had her spooked, but Law trusted that it wasn't anything to do with him or his crew. Even still, she seemed dazed and worried about something, biting her lips and breaking her fingers, and occasionally glaring over his shoulder when she thought he wasn't looking. Every now and again, she would walk straight into someone, or something. The first time it was a fountain, leaving the woman soggy in her uniform — although she did smile at that at least, joking that she had been feeling a bit too warm.

At this point, he was wondering if he should tie a leash around her.

He ended up keeping one hand on her shoulder to guide her around. Whatever was bothering her, she was having more difficulty recognizing reality than usual.

At the moment, Law was looking for a few bookstores to add to both his collection and hers. She had asked for books over a month ago and never gotten any — none that she had unwrapped, anyway. Plus, she also would need new clothes soon. Specifically, some new workout clothes, as she had a talent for ruining the ones she had.

Technically, he supposed it was Quilo's fault. Either way, this time her outfits would be little more than a sports bra and some very short shorts to limit the amount of damage that Quilo's blade would inflict on the clothes. Unfortunately, this town looked severely limited in terms of clothing — togas were worn almost exclusively due to high heat and humidity.

So, books it was.

Law stopped briefly at one stall to pick some food for Is to eat. She hadn't eaten much today yet — another worrying sign.

Under his grip, Law felt Is stumble, his grip on her shoulder preventing her from falling headfirst into the baker's stall. Just as quickly as she had stumbled, Law had released her and grabbed the perpetrator, holding tightly to his arm.

It was a young boy, probably about nine years old, with dark hair and almond-shaped blue eyes. His skin was tan from being out in the sun all day, he was dirty and his clothes were a few sizes too big for him. He had already started some waterworks, apologizing for running into them, saying that he was late for his job to pay for food for his ailing mother. Law almost let him go, but Is grabbed his wrist.

"Is-ya—"

"Boy, listen to me: Grab your brother and run. Don't go back. If you do, they'll catch you. They're coming for you tonight."

Dumbfounded, both boy and Law stared at Is. Law recognized the distress in her eyes, connecting it to the vision she must have had yesterday morning. She released Law's hand, and began wringing her hands nervously.

Law let the boy go, and he scampered off into an alleyway, clearly bewildered by the strange woman who had given him such an ominous warning.

"… Is-ya, what did you see?"

She shook her head. "I-I can't…"

Law sighed. If he was lucky, whoever "they" were wouldn't ruin his plans to rob a gang or two blind before he left. Looking back at where the boy had disappeared to, he wondered if he reminded Is of her son.

Angry at himself for thinking such a thing, began to steer her away to the bookstore. She continued to crack her knuckles and mutter under her breath, not even noticing when Law held a mango out for her to eat. He pinched her ear to get her attention.

"Is-ya, eat."

She nodded, her expression distracted as she ate the fruit, skin and all, without seeming to taste it. Law decided that she would tell him if the events she saw would end up affecting him, and observed the streets around him instead. There were more of the street children that had bumped into Is earlier around the whole town, but they were sneaky. Law only noticed them out of the corners of his eyes, and only because he began looking for them, hoping to see the boy again to get a clue as to what would be happening tonight. All of the children were in varying levels of rags for clothing, which fed Law's suspicions that the children were used by the gangs to fund everything in this damnably hot country. He supposed that they taxed people and robbed visitors.

He had already considered this, and had ordered his men to travel with very little coin in their pockets. They would probably lose some money, but not nearly as much as some other pirates.

In a way, Law had more respect for these street children than most adults. He had lived the life of crime for many years now, and some of the children were leagues ahead of any pick-pocketing that he'd seen elsewhere.

Briefly, he wondered if he should bring one onto the crew to replace Samei. They were still in the market for a glorified maid, and having one of these pick-pockets around would pay for itself.

Law smirked, finally haven reached a decently sized bookstore, and trying to ignore the beri signs in his eyes and he mentally tallied the amount of money one or two of these street children could possibly earn him in a year.

A glance at his seer, and he realized she was looking at him with an expression of curious appraisement.

"No, Is-ya. We are not going to go around taking in orphan children."

He expected her to gasp, or joke, or comment on how he had guessed so easily. He was disconcerted to notice that instead, she shrunk into herself.

He did not miss the brief instance of horror that crossed her face.

Law took this in. His seer, who was used to seeing pain and death constantly, including genocide, was perturbed by something. It had to do with the children, based on her uncharacteristic sullenness and her warning to the boy in the marketplace.

"Is-ya. Who is coming for that boy tonight?"

Slowly, Is turned her face up to Law, before shaking her head. He caught his breath.

Fuck. Tears. She was holding back tears.

"I-it… doesn't… affect…"

"But it affects you. And you're crew." She winced. "Is-ya, tell me."

She only pursed her lips tighter, before breaking her fingers and staring at her feet.

The gears in Law's head began turning. There was only one thing that could cause that kind of his reaction in his seer.

The Shadows were preventing her from doing something. Something that she didn't want to happen.

Law grabbed her arm and led her away from the bookshop that they still had not entered. He pulled out a den-den mushi and called for all crew members to meet back at the ship. Whatever would happen tonight, whether big or small, had affected his seer to the point where she couldn't respond to him, despite her fear. Law no longer had any intention on staying on this island after tonight. They would make their plans, they would rob these people, and then they were getting out.

He ignored the vague discomfort as the hairs at the back of his neck stood up. He already knew from his seer's expression as he dragged her back to the Polar Tang.

The Shadows weren't happy.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

"-and that's the gist of it. Sound good, Cap'n?" Quilo fluttered his eye lashes at Law. Law ignored the obvious flirtations from the man as usual, and nodded his approval.

One of the higher ministers of state had gotten in trouble with the leader of this wretched island. Surprisingly, Minnow was the one to find out about the potential riot, as people were protesting angrily (and occasionally, violently) outside his house day in and day out. Since the War of the Best, travelers to this island had decreased, meaning people had less income than usual. The people were starting to go hungry.

The ruler had sent a good portion of troops to this minister's house, not to prevent the minister's death, but in case of riot. The troops had orders to contain protestors and the minister's bodyguards in the case of said riot. Which hadn't sat well with the minister's household, who had then paid for more mercenary guards.

Meaning half the town had their eyes on this one minister's house. Meaning that the rest of the town was relatively unprotected.

Shachi and Penguin had rigged up a couple of rudimentary bombs to use in some of the lower quarters. They weren't interested in hurting too many people, just creating so much of a distraction that by the time the guard had sorted everyone out, they wouldn't realize that the main palace had been robbed until well after the Heart Pirates were gone.

Is had still not relaxed.

"Sounds good, Quilo. Remember, keep a low profile, men. And ignore the children. Try not to let them rob you, but if they do, we're going to rob this country enough that it wont matter."

Law's sharp eyes caught onto the brief discomfort from Jean Bart.

"… Anything you want to add, Jean Bart?"

The man met Law's unwavering gaze, and nodded.

"… One hears things, as a slave, that might not otherwise be heard."

Is flinched. Law's eyes narrowed and Jean Bart continued. "Those children… If I were you, I'd give them the money."

Now this was an interesting twist. Patiently, Law indicated for Jean Bart to continue.

The man shook his head. "No one deserves to be a slave, Captain."

The ex-Captain's words hung over heavily on the crew members for a brief instant. Law choose his next words carefully, knowing that a single misplaced word could cause a mutiny among not only his crew, but Is as well.

He began slowly, as if picking his way through a field of explosives. "… No. No one deserves that. You're right. But we are not saints. We are no one's saviors. What you do with your allowances is your business, and I encourage you to do what you will. Maybe rob a few extra houses so that we still walk away with enough to outfit this ship and live good lives. I will not count money that I never saw."

The weight over his crew members lifted. They seemed pleased to have an alternative.

But not Is. She had closed her eyes, leaning her head back while biting her lip. Even as his crew discussed possibilities, she only seemed as if she wanted to shut out the world.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Shachi crept in the alleyway approaching the courthouse. The first explosion had already gone off in the marketplace, and the army had been dispatched to take care of it. Another had been set off at the docks, so another portion of the army had already been dispatched there as well. Shachi was practically giggling at this point. The poor army was so thinned out that they had already managed to bag 20 million beris.

And the night was young yet.

As he started to step forward, a hand on his uniform pulled him back.

About to curse loudly, Shachi bit his tongue and turned to find himself face to face with not Penguin, but a young boy. The boy held a single finger to his lips and beckoned Shachi to follow him.

Instantly, Shachi was suspicious. This was clearly a street child, there was no doubt about that. They were hardly trustworthy guides.

But as he hesitated, a small group of troops clattered passed where he had just been about to walk through to. Instantly, he had held himself against he building, hiding himself in the shadows. Once they had passed, he glanced quizzically at the young man who helped him. He had dark brown hair, and almond shaped blue eyes. He looked like he could really use a decent meal, and Shachi debated whether or not he should give the boy his allowance for saving him.

But the boy was again motioning him to follow him. With a glance over his shoulder, Shachi leaned towards the boy.

"Why should I trust you?" He whispered hoarsely.

The boy looked pensive for a moment. When he answered, he answered slowly, his voice barely audible.

"Your friend — a woman in your clothes. She saved me and my brother. So I'll help you. There's a better way in, without them Uni's catching you."

After blinking as he slowly digested the boy's words, Shachi grinned. Clearly, Is must have read this boy's future today.

"What's your name, boy?"

"… Atti. I'm Atti."

"Nice to meet you, Atti. I'm Shachi. Well then, lead on!"

There was a brief pause while the boy seemed to look for an ulterior motive from Shachi, or perhaps he was waiting for Shachi to hit him. Either way, Shachi gave him a trademark goofy grin instead. "Is-chan is something, isn't she?"

There was another pause, then a slight nod. Then Atti led Shachi into the darkened streets.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

One step forward. One step back. One step forward. One step back.

That scene with the little girl repeated in her mind, and Is dug her fingers into her eyes, trying to burn the image out of her own mind. She had stopped it. The little girl was safe. Is had helped her.

Hadn't she?

To her horror, she hadn't. Those boys and their friends were not safe — after tonight, they would get much worse than she had originally been afraid of. They needed to get off this island.

But they couldn't. And she couldn't help.

She had already tried leaving the beach several times, but each and every time she could feel the Shadows reaching for her. This was merely establishing control and proving their dominance over her. She couldn't do anything about it.

Or could she?

Shouldn't she?

She needed to help. This wasn't something she could abide by. She had to do something.

One step forward. One step back.

She couldn't go anywhere. She couldn't reach for them. Not even her voice would work. Not even the electricity from Law could save her from herself now, even though he had tried several times. Without him as a shelter, she found herself just repeating the same horrors as yesterday morning over and over again. Nothing was grounding her. Not even the sand she shoved into her eyes, nor the sting as she pealed away her own flesh, nor the jolt of broken bones.

Cornered within her own broken mind, there was nothing that could save her. It was just her and her visions now.

She was terrified. Beyond terror, it was more than that. Her morality raged against her fear while her subconscious ate up the conflict, reflecting itself in a loop of images she couldn't escape from. This was the very concept of hell, complete with demons impassively watching from above.

How could she _not_ help those children?

But _how_ could she?

She was trapped.

One step forward. One step back.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law paced back and forth across the submarine deck. Shachi, Minnow, and Krill were late.

He didn't want a repeat of what happened with Samei. Is was not infallible — it was possible that she mis-read her visions. It was possible that someone would not make it home tonight.

At this point, half the town was on fire. The first explosion had worked better than they had ever dreamed. The protestors, already testing the boundaries of violence with rocks through windows, had been sparked into rioting. At this point, half the town was probably destroyed or burning. He could tell that deaths had been minimal (at least on their end, as the only things they burned or blew up had been empty buildings), but he honestly didn't care. Already his crew had brought back a hefty amount of gold to more than compensate for the amount they lost to pick-pockets.

Is was currently waiting on the shore, clearly distressed but still refusing to tell him why. It irked him that she was refusing to tell him anything besides "knowledge is a double edge sword." Still, he had picked up enough.

He knew it had to do with the children, that much he was sure of. He also knew that she had seen death and slavery of children before. That much had bothered her, but not to this level. Or at least, he didn't think so.

But then again, the only thing after that… No. Systematic child abuse was one thing. Systematic child _sexual_ abuse? That was another matter entirely.

Finally, on the edge of the horizon, the three he was waiting for appeared. For a moment, Law gripped his sword a little tighter, seeing the crowd running behind his men — but then he realized that they were running with his men, not at them, and he relaxed.

He studied the group closer, and recognized the boy from this afternoon in the marketplace. In fact, the whole group were children.

The group of children running with his men stopped a good distance away from his ship — close enough to hear shouted instructions, but not so close that they couldn't get away fast enough. Law's sharp eyes noted the suspicious gazes they gave him and his ship. They huddled a bit closer together, and Is stood in front of them, clearly conflicted.

Shachi, Minnow, and Krill and no such qualms and lugged their treasure up onto the deck, nodding at their Captain as they went.

"Captain!" said Shachi excitedly, "Those kids are something else. Lead us all around the city. We must have gotten twice the amount of gold as we thought we would. And didn't run into a single guard the whole time."

Law gave them a courteous nod, then hopped over the guard rail to the beach to get his wayward seer.

As he approached, he appraised the group before him. The boy from this afternoon stared him down defiantly. He was clearly the leader of this small gaggle. Him and another, potentially his brother, were nearly identical. Unlike the first, his brother's eyes were green and far softer than the his, although Law could see a glint of strength behind his kindness. The children around him were clearly frightened of something. There were around twenty of them, all under 10 years of age, all wearing rags and little else.

"You helped my crew?" he questioned the boy cautiously.

The boy with blue eyes nodded once, slowly, stiffly. "You help us, we help you. Debt paid."

Law nodded his approval.

There was another explosion in the direction of the city, and he could tell that they were getting closer. Approaching Is, Law touched her lightly on her shoulder.

"Is-ya, we must go."

He briefly considered taking the boys with him. But the boys would clearly not leave without the others, and he was no babysitter — with one exception, of course. Besides, if they were anything like himself, they would be able to take care of themselves just fine.

Slowly, Is turned away from the children. Instead of moving, however, she seemed to be locked in some internal battle.

"Is-ya," he growled dangerously.

She was trembling, her jaw locked in place. She took a step forward, then another, before she stopped. Confused, Law sighed. Moving closer, he reached to pull her towards himself. Suddenly, she stamped her foot into the sand.

"FUCK THIS SHIT," she screamed suddenly.

To say Law was startled was an understatement. In a moment, his seer changed from a timid, conflicted woman to one who was abruptly, and aggressively, rebelling against the world.

"Fuck your rules. Pull out my soul. I don't give a damn. I ain't helping _him_ anymore until I help them." She pointed towards him, then towards the children, and Law raised his eyebrow. "You'll have to kill me first, and then where would you fuckers be, huh? HUH?"

There was a slight pause, and with a quick glance to the children Law noted that they were thrown completely off-balance.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Here's the deal: I do what I want, you get what you want. So go fuck yourselves."

With that display of insanity, Is turned to the huddled mass of children.

"You. On the ship. Now."

They hesitated for a moment.

"NOW."

They hesitated no longer. Jolted out of their awe of this crazy woman, the children began running for the gangplank up to Law's ship.

Law practically seethed. "Is-ya… You better have a damn good reason for ordering _children_ onto _my_ ship-"

"Captain, with all due respect, I just told the shadow-gods to go fuck themselves. What do you think you can _possibly_ do to me?"

And with that, she stalked past her awe-struck Captain and began barking orders at the other crew members to get the children situated. No one questioned her authority.

For a moment, Law stared, unsure of whether to feel rage, incredulousness, awe, or attraction. He settled for a weird mix as he grit his teeth and joined his seer on the ship.

"They better not be any worse behaved that Shachi and Penguin," he grumbled.

There was a slight pause. A quick glance, and he caught Isabelle's expression.

It was gratitude. Relief. Victory.

And love.

Law pulled himself away, hands shoved in his pockets as he barked the order to dive. He ignored the pounding of his chest as he walked to his office. In fact, he tried to not think of anything at all.

/././././././././././././././././

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	30. Chapter 30

Atti had never been in this situation before.

He had kept his eye on all of his mates, small knife in his hand and ready to stab the first adult to hit them. His whole gang had been.

And then this woman happened.

The pirates they had joined were suspiciously nice. They had welcomed Atti's gang with open arms and hearts. There was an entire dormitory that the children had gotten to themselves with real beds and blankets (the unused woman's dormitory, Atti had noticed). The pirates were constantly barging in for the first few days, excitedly inviting the children in on the jokes and pranks. Even with their reserved and suspicious nature, soon all the members of his gang were lured into the fun. Julia had taken a strong liking to Shachi and Penguin, and was enthralled with this magical ship they were on. Every day she came back speaking a stranger and stranger language. Cato had been adopted into the kitchen, and the head chef was even now heartily stuffing him with food and showing him how to cook the perfect chili. Even his own brother, Cyp, had been adopted on the ship, excitedly telling Atti about the fucking talking bear and the navigation room every night.

Not Atti. No. These adults didn't fool him.

Atti had stuck to the walls the last few days. As his gang had slowly spread out on the ship, Atti hid in old storage rooms, sneaking from corner to corner of the ship waiting, watching, and ready to strike. It was a gift from the gods, his skills. No one could find Atti when he didn't want to be found, but he always knew where everyone was.

At the moment, Atti was tip-toing down the hallway towards the kitchen. If anyone was going to harm his gang, it would be the men in the kitchen first. Kitchens had always been volatile areas full of shouting, cursing, and knives -

"Hi!"

Atti jumped, almost hitting his head on the wall as he threw his blade back in self-defense. He felt the blade sink into flesh for a moment, and he paled in concealed terror.

It was that godsdamned woman. The one who warned him, who brought him on the ship – his savior. The bane of his existence.

Adults don't do favors freely. They always expect something in return. Clearly, she was biding her time before demanding he pay back his debt. He had known that his crew would be in trouble as soon as they got back to the town. The gang leaders would know that they would have had to have a hand in it, for this crew to steal the amount that they did. Atti had been planning on leading his gang to the dock to steal a ship of their own, his only hesitation being that they had no way to navigate. He was no fool to take on a sea with his gang. Not unless there was no other way to survive.

But when this raving woman with her strange eyes had started shouting at the sky, he'd been too confused to argue against running onto this ship. For a brief moment, it seemed that the gods had granted him another blessing.

A blessing that had turned into him stabbing her.

It was only her hand, but the damage was done. He tried to pull away, but she gripped his wrist with a strength he wouldn't have thought she had. He hadn't thought she was all that strong.

"That hurt, twerp."

He prepared himself mentally for her to strike, defiantly gazing into those strange eyes of hers. If he was lucky, then he would be the only one punished.

Instead, she sighed. "Damnit, the Captain is not gonna like blood on his floors, and I'm damn tired of cleaning it up." She released his wrist, but kept the blade. "No more blades for you, mister. You're too twitchy. The mop is down the hall on the right, go get it and we'll clean this up."

Stunned was too light of a word to used. Baffled was a little better. She pulled the blade out of her hand, and more blood joined what was already on the floor. Atti remained rooted in place, looking at her hand in pure fascination.

Wait.

Was that-

No. That's not possible.

Atti grabbed her hand, staring at it in awe. Wiping away the blood, there was no longer a wound to look at. The damage was gone.

"If you think that's cool, you should watch me during weapons training sometime." She winked at him, and he dropped her hand as if it were a red hot iron. She sighed. "Look, I know what they did to you. I know what you grew up with. Kinda… uh… oh, what's that god's name… The one with the visions and stuff? Yeah, anyway. I see things. That's how I knew you had to get out. I'm not gonna hurt you. Although I may slap you if you stab me again for saying hi. Now, are you gonna go get that mop, or am I gonna have to tell the Captain you won't clean up your messes?"

As if in a daydream, Atti shook his head slowly. He took a few steps away from the woman before turning to go get the cleaning supplies she had mentioned.

She was… god-gifted?

This was too much for him. He was 13 summers old. He had the world figured out, he knew every adult _and_ how to navigate them.

But not her.

He returned, and began to mop up the mess while keeping a guarded eye on her. To his surprise, she helped him, grabbing a rag and wiping the walls of additional blood splatter while he cleaned the floor. Within a couple of minutes, the job was done, and the woman followed him to the closet to return

"I'm Is, by the way – Isabelle. Are you hungry? Because I'm starving." And with that, the god-touched woman grabbed Atti by the back of his shirt and dragged him to the kitchen as she rambled about pancakes and poltergeists. Before Atti could even blink, they were at a table with two large plates of food, although hers was much larger than his. She never stopped talking, rambling on about this or that with such a flurry of randomness that Atti couldn't keep up. His guard dropped, and he had to hide the barest hint of a smile by eating the food in front of him.

Honestly, Atti had never been in this situation before.

He'd never started to care for a grown up.

/././././././././././././././././././

Short chapter. There are reasons. Review please!


	31. Chapter 31

In the chill of his freezer, Law carefully performed brain surgery on the corpse. He was poking into different parts of the brain and shooting it full of electricity for shits and giggles while he thought.

His crew had wanted to adopt every single brat that they had brought in a few days ago. James had volunteered to oversee their medical exams, confirming the horrific thought that had originally passed through Law's mind.

With a frustrated scowl, Law shot a particularly strong jolt of electricity through the body this time.

He had not taken this sitting down. He had asked that James keep his diagnoses from the rest of the crew while he made plans and called a few people. He was lucky in that the majority of the children, with some convincing, were happy to leave with a vice-admiral who would be placing them in the care of someone else (although Shachi and Penguin did have Is check and recheck that they would be well-cared for). The Heart Pirates had dropped them off only yesterday. The town itself would be getting an unexpected visit from an admiral in a few days as Law had given evidence for their systematic child abuse. He had also called a few of his other contacts in shadier professions; if the government couldn't handle this, those responsible would still be held liable.

He supposed this would be one of the few truly good things he'd do with his life. He scoffed as he shot another jolt into his freshly dead corpse. The man had been a pirate on a ship they had taken after dropping the children off, and he had taken particular satisfaction in making this man scream. He had been in need of some stress relief, and while fucking Is had it's benefits, she didn't scream the way he wanted her to.

Still, while electrocuting the man's nervous system had brought a brief grin to his face, it didn't fix his problem. He still had three crew members on his ship that he didn't want.

Well, maybe he did want them and he just didn't want to admit it. With a frustrated growl, Law straightened and wrote his observations on a clipboard. Cyprian, or Cyp, had been adopted by Bepo, while Julia had been adopted by both Shachi and Penguin. If he was being completely honest with himself, Bepo _had_ been in need of an assistant, and Julia was so mechanically gifted that she was quickly becoming a promising engineer. Both of them had staunchly refused to leave their leader and brother, and his crew had unfortunately taken their side when it was time to leave.

Their brother. Atti. The only child with a bounty on his head.

It wasn't much, but there was no world-government sanctuary for him. Law supposed he could just let the boy off at the next island. He had good instincts. Law had already noticed that the boy was practically a ghost, impossible to be found unless he wanted to be. He strongly suspected that the boy had keen observation haki, and perhaps was even born with the ability.

He sighed for a moment. The only one that could find the boy was Is. It seemed that no one else could get through to the boy, and although Law had never seen the boy smile, Couri had mentioned seeing one on the boy's face during one of her many kitchen raids. Especially since the rest of the children had left, the boy had hardly left her side except to sleep.

He placed the clipboard on the table, crossing his arms as he thought to himself.

Ever since she had told the Shadows to "go fuck themselves" as she had so eloquently put it, Is had changed. Although she hadn't been necessarily timid before, it was different now. There was a confidence in her step that was more pronounced, a smile always tucked away in the corner of her lips. He hadn't even seen an outburst of temper in her with Quilo. Needless to say, it was… attractive.

Goddamnit, he was smiling.

She still had her temper in the bedroom, luckily.

Back to the problem at hand. What to do with a young teenager who hated you?

He supposed Corazon might have had an answer.

His smile slipped, and he growled, picking up his utensils again and turning the electricity up to the max. With a loud crack, the whole body jolted, and there was the faint smell of burning flesh Law burned part of the brain in his enthusiasm.

A knock sounded at the door.

Law glared momentarily at the door as it started to open, and he turned down the electricity. Is poked her head in.

"Hey, Captain."

"Is-ya," he growled, "you didn't wait for me to answer your knock."

"Yeah, yeah, that's cool. Atti, this is the freezer. Oh! Captain, can you shoot it again?"

For a moment, Law blinked dumbly as Atti was shoved into the freezer by Is. Feeling his temper rise, he opened his mouth before hesitating. Although originally wearing an expression of irritation when he was shoved into the room, the boy's expression quickly shifted. It was brief, but there was a spark in his eyes. A spark of fascination.

Interesting.

Law reinserted his probe somewhere where it would still have an effect while the boy took a tentative step closer. With a press of a button, the corpse's arm moved and the boy jumped. After a brief moment of hesitation, he began tiptoeing forward and reaching out to examine the hand that had just moved.

Law grinned before he caught Isabelle's smug look. He lost his grin, schooling his face to a more usual blank expression.

"… Atti-ya, was it?"

The boy looked up, straightening while his spark of fascination turned into a suspicious glare. For just a moment, Captain and boy stared each other down, assessing each other. Law's lazy smirk reassumed it's traditional spot on his face.

"How do you feel about a job?"

Immediately, the boy seemed to tense, so Law picked his words carefully. He continued moving his hands and cutting out various parts of the corpse's brain just for the fun of it.

"We're in need of a cleaner, and sadly most aren't comfortable with our… more messy adventures. In return for you keeping our ship clean and doing general chores… I'll teach you how to do this." Sticking the rod into the back of the corpse's hand, Law shot just enough electricity for the fingers to twitch. Atti was clearly enthralled. "And more, of course. You'll learn medicine, have a place to sleep, and food to eat. I'll get your loyalty, a clean sub, and a chore-boy. Otherwise, I'm dumping you out at the next island, inhabited or no."

The threat, strangely, seemed to set the boy at ease. It made sense, Law supposed. He was used to trades and threats, not kindness or attention.

"And of course," Law added, placing his palms beside the dead body and leaning towards the boy, "I may ask you to lift purses and do the occasional odd job. You'll become one of the crew, meaning you'll be expected to do the work laid out to you. The specifics of the job are something we can discuss as they come up. Do we have an agreement?"

Law held out his gloved hand, still coated in blood, to the boy to shake.

For a moment, nothing happened. But Law was patient when he needed to be. After almost a full minute had passed, the boy reached his hand towards Law's, hesitating just before grabbing it.

"… Does this employment include my mates with me?"

Law grinned. "In a way, yes. They'll be part of their own groups, but you'll be on the ship together."

Atti nodded, and shook Law's hand, staring him in the eye. Distinctly, Law got the impression that in a few years, the boy in front of him would become a very formidable opponent.

Meaning that the next few years would be critical. If he could mold the boy just so, then he would earn himself an unwavering ally rather than a rival.

"Perfect. Is-ya, take him down to Krill. Tell Krill to get him and his friends fitted with uniforms. Atti-ya, Krill had been temporarily taking care of the cleaning. He will train you briefly, and will be in charge of inspecting your work until such time as he deems you do a satisfactory job. Your weapons training will be decided by Quilo."

The boy looked suspicious, and Law raised his eyebrow. "In the event that, say, one of your friends was to get attacked outside of this sub, I daresay you would want to be able to defend them, would you not?"

The boy looked confused for a moment before answering, "I'd defend my mates, m'lord."

"It's Captain, not lord. I have no intention of treating you like a child. You are a full member of the crew - meaning that you better be ready to protect yourself, because you are no one else's responsibility. You might have stayed inside yesterday, but that will not always be the case."

The boy nodded solemnly, and Law continued, "And Is-ya?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"You have two extra hours a day for the next week with Quilo for entering before I said you could come in."

"But-"

"Is-ya…" he growled. She stiffened slightly, and bowed.

"Yes, Captain. Come on, Atti. You'll get to play with the dead bodies after your chores are done." With that, she pulled the boy's arm and dejectedly left the room. When the door latched behind them, Law stopped holding in his grin.

This cleaned things up nicer than he thought possible. Though the boy would be no Samei… no, there was no comparison. This boy would be far superior in many ways than Samei.

Law continued to smile as he thought about how exactly he was going to punish Is that night for bursting into his Freezer.


	32. Chapter 32

It was from the moment when she woke up that she knew something had changed.

Heart pounding away as she jerked awake, Is sat up quickly. Her breath came in short, desperate gasps for a moment, and her mind went wild as she tried to recognize what was wrong.

It had been two weeks since they had officially welcomed their newest additions to the crew. Already, Julia and Cyps had been involved in everything from pranks to chores – which Atti was now left on his own to do, having been officially pronounced capable. Although still suspicious, he was quickly becoming as much a member of the crew as anyone else. There had been a couple of nay-sayers on the ship (including Luxie), but when they saw his trainings with Quilo they had quickly changed their minds. The boy had a natural talent for fighting, as well as years of experience to back it up. Already, he was a better fighter than several members of the ship including Is. It was something Quilo refused to let her forget, as he often paired them against each other. Atti had originally had his reservations about fighting her with live blades, but now it was the only time that she saw an actual smile on the boy's face.

To be honest, it was probably the best two weeks of Isabelle's life. She should have known something would come crashing down.

As usual, she had woken up alone in the bed. She took a deep, calming breath. She could fix this. She knew she could.

That didn't stop the tears from rolling down her face.

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The town that they had docked at was another fairly large town. It was decently sized island, with an economy based around farming the abundant fruits of the jungle, as well as both the commercial and underground pet trade. The animals here were rare, beautiful, and highly desirable amongst the nobles of the world.

Plus, they weren't bad to eat, either.

Law was wandering through the streets now, looking for the Joker's local connections. He knew at this point that the artificial devil fruits were being made in the New World, but he didn't know where the process was happening. He had his suspicions that at least some of it was happening in Dressrosa, but he didn't dare show up to do some sleuthing. He still wasn't ready to face Doflamingo.

He had left Is alone in their room in the middle of the night to get started, assigning Atti to be her door guard under strict instructions to defend her to the death. With how glued to her side he was, Law had no doubt that he would do just that.

Law's frown deepened slightly, as his hold on his Nodachi tightened. Maybe he was being overconfident.

Nothing to do about it now other than finish quickly and return to her before she woke up.

Law stepped into a disreputable-looking establishment, never guessing that Is would not be there when he returned.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

He was coming.

That was the only thought that went through Isabelle's head. She gripped her skull as she swallowed a scream from the pressure.

Then it was all clear. Everything.

Through her pain, she glared at the Shadows. Although traditionally they were across the room, now their window was right in front of her. She seethed as she hissed through her clenched teeth, "This is all your fault, isn't it?"

An image, and a tendril reached out from their crack to touch her cheek. She flinched away.

"There's only one way to fix it. You know he's not ready. The future is changing right now, that's the only reason you fuckers care."

The tendril retreated, and Isabelle felt the flow of tears finally stop.

"Well, I'm gonna fix it. I'll clean up your damn mess like I always do. And you better help me."

A hum of agreement was all she heard from them. Is stood up.

It was time to go.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

When Atti heard the door open, he turned slowly to face his mistress, ready to follow her as he had been commanded, despite being confused as to why she would be getting up this early. She never got up before 7:00 am, but it was only 3:00 am now.

What he was not expecting was to see the woman not only fully dressed, but to see a cloak on her shoulders and a blade at her waist. Before he could speak, she touched his shoulder and put a finger to her lips.

Her eyes were different. Something was off. As he looked closer into her eyes, he noticed what looked to be veins of black starting at the pupil and—

Her voice seemed to echo as she spoke.

"Atticus, listen to me – I must go. There is a hunter coming, and if I leave now you will be spared. I will be okay. Stay with Law, help him through what comes. I will leave you messages along the way."

And then darkness took him, and he remembered no more.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law's trip took longer than he had anticipated. Apparently, becoming a Shichibukai meant that Law was no longer welcome in certain establishments until he proved that he was no law-abiding dog of the state. Though truthfully, he had enjoyed the screams of the men he killed, and he was sure that Is would enjoy him coated in blood. He grinned as he thought of her just the night before, in the throws of wonton passion…

He hummed to himself. Having accepted his feelings for her, even if he never admitted them to her… it was nicer than he ever expected. He grinned wryly to himself, wondering what Cora-san would think of him as a love-struck puppy – because he was. He didn't need words between them to guess that she felt the same.

 _Pururururu. Pururururu._

Law frowned, answering his snail transponder without speaking. Who in the world would be calling him at this time in the morning?

Bepo's voice answered, and Law's heart froze in his chest.

"C-captain… she's gone. I-I'm sorry."

Stopping in his tracks, he whispered back into the transponder.

"Who?" he seethed.

"T-there's a letter, Captain—"

"I'll be right there."

Law hung up, opening up a room to travel quickly to the inn. He couldn't believe it. Was it Doflamingo? Possible, but it was unlike the man to leave a ransom note. Law clenched his teeth. Stupid Atti, how could he have let something like this happen to her? How could any of his crew?

She had been in the middle of the inn, surrounded on all sides by all of his crew. How could she have possibly been kidnapped?

Within moments, Law appeared in front of the distraught bear. The rest of his crew were gathered around, several with tears on their faces. Without another word, he held out his hand.

"The letter, Bepo."

Bepo shakily held out the folded up piece of paper, refusing to meet Law's eyes.

"I-it wasn't a ransom, Captain…"

For a moment, Law forgot how to breathe. It wasn't a… ransom?

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Captain…" Shachi began, sniffling. "We've… We've already read it."

Penguin's tear streaked face nodded. Law looked around the room, realizing that no one would look him in the eyes – except for James. His eyes were full of sympathy, and Law was sent reeling as he realized what this meant.

She… left?

No. No, there was no way.

Steeling himself, he unfolded the paper in his hands and read it carefully, searching for some hidden meaning somewhere, anywhere. There was no way that she would just leave.

He read the letter. He read the letter again. And again. Once more, slowly, word by word, line by line. Maybe there was some hidden meaning, some hidden message meant only for his eyes. He turned the letter over in his hands, holding it up to the light, anything he could do to try to see her hidden message.

But there was none there.

She was gone.

He barely remembered giving the order, but his crew was like the wind – they ran to all the docks in the area. They found nothing. No dockmaster had seen her. Not even Atti and his mates could find a trace of her with any local street urchins or gangs.

They spent two days looking before James finally confronted his Captain, forcing him to see the truth.

She was gone.

On the third day, they left. Before they did, Law went on a killing spree that would be recounted for years to come. Some part of him managed to keep it to the jails in the area, and other pirate crews. As they left the island, only one thought circled in his mind, over and over again.

She left him. She fucking left him.

There was no comfort for him now. He couldn't sleep. He barely ate. His time was spent either going over plans, training, or slaughtering fellow pirates. Over the next few months, he never stopped looking, never stopped seeking her. He put all of his contacts on the lookout, but somehow she had escaped somewhere that no one could find her. Twice, twice he heard a rumor only to arrive far too late to catch her, and no trace as to where she had gone.

He tested her letter in his laboratory, again and again, searching for any possible underlying meaning, or a hidden message. Anything. He didn't know why, but James told him that he was probably looking for confirmation of some kind. He didn't really care.

She had left him.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

 _Captain,_

 _Something's come up. I promise that I'll be okay – between the immortality and Quilo's teachings, I'm more than capable of taking care of myself._

 _I don't know how long I'll be away, but by the time you get this, I'll be long gone. I'm boarding a ship in the next 10 minutes, so I gotta run._

 _I'll leave you notes along the way if I come across anything particularly important._

 _Also, don't blame Atti - poor thing never saw it coming._

 _Safe travels,_

 _Is_


	33. Chapter 33

For Shslcardiologist.

/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././

Isabelle's feet pounded on the pavement as she ran. She followed the whispers of the Shadows as she turned down side street after side street to escape her pursuers.

Or was there anyone there at all?

With no time to think, she kept running.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

To say that Law was angry was an understatement.

What he wanted more than anything in the whole world was to go to a bar, pick up the hottest woman in the whole town, and bang the shit out of her. Yeah. That's what he needed.

Ironically, he thought that he would never be able to live without that bitch. Well, it seemed like it was easier than he had thought. He was living just fine.

They were almost ready to go to the New World now. Before they did, the stopped for some more debauchery at a local tavern on Drum Island. It was a cold, snowy island, perfect for the minkman who greatly enjoyed running around. His whole crew had been happily playing in the snow, and for the three youngest members it was a shocking experience to see real snow. It even shocked Atti out of his funk, and while he did not join in with the others in their games, he did sit out and watch the snowfall for hours before anyone finally persuaded him to come inside.

After her disappearance, Law had questioned the boy over and over again. It took all of his self-control not to mutilate the boy for his failures, but he supposed that at least the boy was taking it as hard as he was.

Law trudged through the snow ahead of his crew, holding his Nodachi in the crook of his shoulder and wanting nothing more than to be away from their revelry. His crew, after a few tears, decided that she'd be true to her word and come back eventually. Well, that was _if_ Law let her.

He swore colorfully, cursing her again under his breath.

There, he'd finally reached this god-forsaken town. Without pausing to make conversation with anyone, he walked right into what looked to be the only inn. He opened the door, then kicked the snow off his books and shook it off his shoulders onto the mat just inside the front door. Once he was no longer looking like the minkman navigator from his ship, he approached the front desk.

"I'd like to book a few rooms," he said gruffly.

"Absolutely, sir!" This goddamn receptionist was far too peppy for Law's mood.

Then she said something that stole his breath.

"Would you happen to be Captain Law, the Shichibukai? If you are, I have a message for you."

Law blinked for a moment, before he nodded.

The woman handed over a small envelope. "About a month back, a young lady left this for you. She said you'd be by eventually. I've done as she paid for sir, and no one has opened the letter."

Law believed the woman. She looked like she wouldn't be able to tell a white lie to a child, let alone a lie to one of the most powerful pirates of the sea. Looking closer, he could tell that she was pale and sweating, and her pupils were dilated. The woman was terrified.

The door opened behind Law, and he glanced to see a large, well-muscled man in a green jacket walked into the room. The woman behind the counter bowed slightly, a flash of relief passing by her face.

The man nodded at Law. "I know you," his deep voice boomed. "You saved Straw Hat during the War of the Best. I'm Dalton, and so long as you cause no trouble for the people here, you may stay free of charge."

That fucking Straw Hat. He really did have friends fucking everywhere. Law settled on a light glare towards the man, someone who clearly had to be important. He spoke slowly, keeping his tone level.

"I'm a pirate, Dalton-ya, I don't save anyone without having my reasons. Spare me the pleasantry. I have no intention of doing anything here than restocking my ship and visiting the local tavern."

Dalton nodded, before turning towards the lounge area and taking a seat on a sofa.

The woman had placed keys for rooms on the counter. If Law was correct, Is must have been here before him. She must have told the woman how many rooms Law would be renting.

This would also account for how this Dalton character knew he would be by, and how he just so happened to be in the inn at the same time as Law.

He supposed he should be touched, but honestly Law just wanted to punch something.

"My crew is behind me, and will be coming for their own rooms. I expect a certain level of security, and will pay extra for it should I need to."

"We have a large debt towards Straw Hat Luffy" said Dalton. "Any friend of his will be well cared for here."

Fuck it. Might as well use Luffy's fucking friends.

Law nodded, grabbed a random key and walked to his room. At this point he wanted nothing more than to open the message left for him. A quick moment later, and he was alone in his room, his door locked and swept for anything of surveillance nature. Satisfied, Law finally opened up the letter left for him by his seer.

 _Captain,_

 _Look for sad ingredients._

 _Is_

Law immediately wanted to punch something again. Throw something through a window. A tantrum, that was it. Wait, fuck, he wasn't a child. He took a deep breath before trying to glare a hole in the tiny letter in his hand.

What the fuck was this? Sad ingredients? What, like soup stock made from the tears of his enemies? What the fuck is this shit? Two months of nothing and this is what that bitch fucking leaves him?

It didn't stop him from reading over that message over and over again. He held it up to the light, smelled it, even licked it to see if there was a hidden secret message anywhere. Like the previous letter, there was nothing.

Sad. It had to mean something.

It had to.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is rocked back and forth on her heels. She was losing weight, she knew it. Even with the money that she had stolen from her own crew members before she left, she was already almost out. Currently, she joined a cruise ship as a custodian.

People rarely looked at the help.

It was a good way for her to hide in plain sight, and she certainly knew how to keep a ship clean at this point.

The visions were coming strong and stronger every day. She found it harder and harder to hold on to reality. The Shadow's never left her side, constantly caressing her, telling her when to run.

When was the last time she ate?

She was so hungry.

He would catch her soon.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

It took Law longer than he would care to admit to finally figure out what she meant. It was when he was looking through his notes of when he had first found the woman that he finally found what he himself had written down.

 _"Sad makes Smiles."_

After some research, Law had finally understood what she had meant: S.A.D.. It was the chemical used to create artificial devil's fruits. With this knowledge in mind, Law had begun tracking shipments of chemicals. He had managed to put together a plan to destroy distribution centers of the chemicals, cut Doflamingo's power off at the source – only none of the ingredients were difficult to obtain, so that plan was moot. After a month, he was stuck again.

Well, until this morning.

 _Captain,_

 _Follow the children._

 _Is_

Along with the letter was a newspaper clipping of a missing child. Although he wanted to reject the letter, say that he was done rescuing children… he knew better.

So instead, here he was, visiting the parents of the missing child. Officially, the story was "missing at sea" but…

According to the distraught parents, their child was never on a boat. She was terrified of the open ocean, and would never get on a ship without one of her parents holding her hand.

He asked them if any other children had gone missing in the area. They assumed he was helping them, but honestly he was only following a hunch.

It would be a lot easier if she were here.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is peeked around the corner, holding her short sword tightly in her hand. There was no one there, but she knew something was wrong.

The Shadows had stopped talking to her.

No. No, no, no. That wasn't it. They'd just turned away for a moment.

She frowned and rubbed her eyes as the lines of her surroundings went blurry. She leaned against the wall.

They didn't need her anymore. She'd done her job. Now she was just collateral.

She glanced at the inn in front of her. He would come here. It would be the last place he would before he went to Punk Hazard. But she wouldn't be able to leave him the message. It was too late.

A hand grabbed her shoulder, and she knew she was sunk.

"Are you lost, miss?"

Is blinked. This… this wasn't right. Was it? Was this the hunter?

She was a young woman, early twenties with long brown hair and gentle green eyes. She waved a hand in front of Isabelle's face.

"Hello? Um… You look hungry, miss. Would you like something to eat?"

Gratitude filled Isabelle's face, and she nodded excitedly. It had been too long since she had eaten.

The woman smiled, with a kindness that reached her eyes. Is breathed a sigh of relief. She was safe. The other woman motioned for Is to follow her, and ignoring her pounding heart, Is stepped towards her.

"I'm Lisa. What's your name?"

"I'm—" Is thought for a minute, realizing that she probably shouldn't give the woman her real name. "Gloria. My name is Gloria."

Where the fuck did Gloria come from? Oh well. Wait, did the he even know her real name?

Did any of it matter?

Lisa smiled, and Is knew she'd be alright tonight. She clung to that thought, thinking that for once she'd rely on someone else, and that everything would be okay.

The Shadows stayed silent.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Another day, another message.

 _Captain,_

 _Look for the scientist._

 _Is_

Well obviously it was a scientist. And yeah, Law had already looked into that. Yep. Totally.

Frustrated, Law swung at Bepo during training harder and faster than he'd done before. If it weren't for the fact that they were on an island and not the training room, Law would be concerned about hurting his ship. Luckily, his ship was docked just off shore so that him and Bepo could have a full out training fight with no holds barred.

In actuality, he'd never once thought about it – who was this mysterious person who had created artificial devil fruit? Who had not only created it, but who was behind the kidnapping of children, and who worked directly for Doflamingo?

Why had he never thought of it before?

Was Is okay?

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is glanced up sheepishly at Lisa.

"That…" Lisa began, "that was all of my food for the month…"

Is looked horrified for a moment, and began to apologize profusely.

"No, no, it's quite alright." Lisa was smiling kindly. "It's worth it to see you are alright. You looked almost sick earlier."

Is felt that her smile was tight. "Yeah…"

Lisa smiled, pouring the two of them a cup of tea. "Here, have some tea. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Is wanted to burst into tears. Of the past few months, this was the first stranger that hadn't wanted something from her. But still, she shook her head. "I can't. I can't say any more. You've been so kind to me. I don't want to get you involved. Why don't you tell me about yourself instead?"

Lisa blinked, and started excitedly telling Is about all about her past from the very moment she was born. Apparently, she was a prodigy herself, only early twenties and the youngest resident at the hospital in town. It must have been over an hour, and Is felt like she knew as much about this young woman, who was strangely a doctor like Law, as she did about Law before she began slowly nodding off. Maybe it was the uncharacteristic kindness in Lisa, or maybe it was the fact that she did strangely remind her of her guided that made Is feel so comfortable.

Or maybe it was just the food. Yeah. That was it. A full belly was a happy—

Her last thought before she fell asleep was seeing a tiny smirk on Lisa's face. But she must have been imagining it.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law stared at the box given to him by the innkeeper. It had been six months since Is had left his crew suddenly. This was not a traditional message, but he had a feeling he knew what it would be. The Heart Pirates had a rather nasty run in with another group of pirates the week prior. Luckily, there was only one casualty in the fight.

His beloved hat.

It could be fixed, but it'd never be the same. Unfortunately, the hat had been cut in such a way that to fix it, even with his powers, it was too small to fit on his head.

Slowly, Law unwrapped the box to pull out another fluffy, spotted hat. He turned it over in his hands, a small smile on his face. She had found him something so similar to the hat that his mother had given him, yet it's shape made it just unique enough that it was a different hat. He searched in the box, but it didn't look like there was an accompanying note.

Unless…

Every previous note had nothing on it, because she knew that someone else might look through the note. She wanted to be sure that any information was just cryptic enough that Law would understand, but it would seem like nonsense to someone else.

Law took the hat, and searched along the inside.

There. There was a small hole in the seam, just enough for a tiny piece of paper to be rolled up inside. Unless you were looking for it, you wouldn't find it.

On one side of the tiny scrape of paper were just two words.

 _Punk Hazard._

Turning the sheet over, he saw two more words that set the gears turning in his head.

 _Straw Hat._

Everything fell into place. Law knew what he needed to do. He put on the hat.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Blinking awake, Is noticed a distinct breeze in her chest cavity. She yawned.

"Law, you know it's not nice to cut people open when they're sleeping…"

Blinking again, she realized that she chained to a makeshift operating room table. Standing over her, with a look of excited shock on her face, was Lisa.

Lisa. The cardiologist.

Right. No Law. Forgot that bit.

"Uh… Lisa? What are you doing?"

Lisa's eyes had changed. She put down the scalpel in her hand to pick up a clipboard. There was something about that clinical expression that just reminded Is of Law. It was comforting.

Wait. Right. "So… You drugged me?"

"Enough to knock several elephants on their collective asses, yes."

Interesting. Even her voice had changed; it had dropped down a full octave. Is frowned. "You… aren't Lisa, are you?"

The pen in not-Lisa's hand paused for a moment. "… And you aren't killable, are you?"

"Nope."

"Hm. Fascinating."

Is sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool and all. So who are you?"

"Doesn't matter. Does it hurt, having your flesh cut into like this?" Not-Lisa took her scalpel back and cut into Isabelle's chest.

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"… Fascinating. I must go now, but when I get back I'll have to run some more tests."

"… Right. Okay. Bye, not-Lisa."

The woman's cold eyes considered Is for a moment before she turned and left the room. Is waited for a few minutes, and then heard quickened feet and the slamming of a door that signaled Not-Lisa had left.

"Well. That was exciting. Better than coffee, I guess." Is fought another yawn as she broke her hands to pull out of the chains on her wrists. She stretched a few more times before repeating the process on her feet. Free of her chains and without a shirt, Is walked upstairs. She knew that Not-Lisa was gone, and there was no one else in this town that was likely able to hurt her. After a moment, Is frowned. What happened to Lisa? Were they the same person? Twins? She didn't know.

After searching around in the only bedroom in the house, Is found a sports bra at the back of her closet that must have been too small for the girl's tiny frame, and a plain black t-shirt. Is found some money under the mattress, grabbed the rest of her belongings, and opened the door to leave.

"Found you," came the hoarse voice from beyond the door.

Without a moment to pause, Is grabbed her blade out of reflex and swung towards the absurdly tall man's face. A flash of blood, and Is made a break for it.

Even as she ran, she knew she'd never out run him.

There he was, in front of her again, fresh wound on the side of his right eye, his blonde hair messy, and his legs in the shape of springs. Although his eyes were full of anger, his half-crazed smile only seemed more exaggerated than usual.

Out of options, Is held her sword in front of her.

It was one thing to be physically tortured, but it was another to be raped. She wasn't about to go down without a fight.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

One year. One year, and not a word from his seer.

He dreamed about her all the time. She never left his thoughts but for a moment. There was not a single other woman in the world that could satisfy him anymore, and he had searched the whole ocean. He had even looked up Scarlett in Tortuga, though he had sworn never to do so.

All he wanted was Isabelle. His seer. His guide.

He knew where she was now. The reason she had been hiding, running away from him, the reason she had become a ghost – Doflamingo. It wasn't until he was finally able to bring himself to Shakky's place that she informed him of Doflamingo sending one of his many lackies to go and get her personally.

He must have captured her. The only thought that kept Law from running straight to Doflamingo and punching the living daylights out of him for taking _his_ woman was that she would be all right. She had to be. She was immortal, goddamnit.

It was too late now, he supposed. He was on Punk Hazard, waiting to meet Caesar. Soon, his plan would be set into motion. He had to move slowly to avoid suspicion.

In the end, Doflamingo would pay. He would pay for it all, even if Law had to rip out his heart himself.

Straw Hat should be here soon. He just had to be patient.

/././././././././././././././././././././././././././

We're close to the end here, ladies and gentlemen.

Drop a review~


	34. Chapter 34

Is growled from her position, muzzled and chained, on Bellamy's shoulder. The stench from the makeshift chain muzzle was anything but pleasant, and the way it dug into her cheekbones was hardly comfortable. She relax for a moment before swinging her body to hit him in the head with her shoulder, but he just grunted, shook her, and resumed walking.

By now, the panic that was originally butterflies in the pit of her stomach was slowly but steadily inching upward. Is wanted to scream, but bit her lips to prevent Bellamy the satisfaction. Instead, she cursed him as colorfully and exotically as she could.

He responded by shaking her, continually knocking the wind out of her. Fucking bastard.

Her captor had learned a while ago that simple handcuffs had not been enough to keep her in place. Since her capture, Is had almost managed to escape three times, with escape attempts nearly every hour. Is was happy to say that she had even managed to kill two of his more unsuspecting crew members, even if she had been beaten severely for it. She supposed it had been interesting, getting beaten. She had ended up laughing hysterically, and claiming that it had tickled. When Bellamy and his gang had realized it hadn't hurt her the way that they had intended, their frustrated growls were something that Is relished. It wasn't until the man had put a collar on her that she was unable to escape her binds – unfortunately, she couldn't break her head the same way she could break her hands.

The air on this island was too warm. Even underground as they'd been traveling, Is could tell. It was comforting, she supposed, comforting in a way that she hadn't realized it could be. Is scowled suddenly at herself, biting through her lips to prevent herself from crying. She refused.

All she wanted was Law.

She shook her head and slammed into Bellamy's head again. He purposely used her head to dent the hallway wall. Stunned briefly, Is groaned before continuing to try to roll or shake her way out of his grip.

After a week of travel, Bellamy the Hyena would be proudly presenting her to his master. He had wrapped the chains all the way around her body, tying them to her collar. Is could do nothing more than barely shuffle along; the chains themselves made even bending extremely difficult, so jumping was out of the question.

Just to piss him off, she had refused to walk, prompting him carry her. So she bit his shoulder until she could taste his blood. He had punched her, but she had only relinquished her grip when her jaw dislocated and released his flesh automatically.

After that experience, he had muzzled her.

They were almost there now, the panic bubbling in her throat. Soon it would reach her head, and she wouldn't be able to think at all. Forcing herself to breathe, she tried to make an escape plan. Surely, there had to be a way out of this. There had to.

She couldn't go down without a fight.

Despite her desperation, their toy guide had them at the castle already. She would be presented to Doflamingo in his very own bedchambers. Isabelle struggled, using her body weight to try and knock Bellamy over, or at least rip off his ear. Anything.

They arrived, and the bastard dropped her onto the unforgiving stone floor. As she coughed, trying to get her wind back and roll away, he stepped on her, crushing her pelvis. There was a satisfied glint in his eye.

Fuck, that one hurt. Rather than cry out in pain, Is glared at him, trying desperately to breath through the goddamn muzzle.

"You're gonna get what's coming to you, bitch."

If it was physically possible, Is would have kicked the man in the balls. Well. That was, if he had any. There was only one person allowed to hurt her this way, and it wasn't this man.

The toy soldier in all of his bright blues and reds reached out with his hand. For a moment, the world slowed as Is saw his hand knock on the door.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats.

The moment she'd been dreading – the door opened.

For a moment, having been in the darkened hallway, Is was blinded by the light. Then there were the feathers, and like a creature from a nightmare, Is recognized Doflamingo.

She didn't have any solid memories of him, nothing that was nearly so clear as when she had met Shakky, and even that had been hazy. But like meeting someone you knew you had forgotten, there was a way that your heart could remember how you felt about them.

The panic reached her head, and she struggled to breathe through the confines of the muzzle chained to her face.

His deep voice chuckled. Leaning heavily on the door frame, he loomed over Is with a malicious glint to his eyes. "Well, well, well. Long time no see."

Isabelle's panic became overwhelming. She reached for a single thought, and clung to it; she would not give him the satisfaction. Unable to say anything, Is settled on glaring.

"You've lost weight, my little pet."

Is snarled in response like a cornered animal, and the man chuckled. "Interesting. Another mystery for the pile." He turned to go back to the room after a nod to dismiss Bellamy, and Is felt herself being dragged by something unseen. She struggled, but whatever it was that had a hold on her, it was stronger than she had thought it would be.

"You're dismissed, Violet."

Is glanced up as a beautiful brunette woman stepped over her chained body, stubbornly not sparing a glance for the blonde on the ground. As she closed the door behind her, Is heard the distinct click of a lock. As the mechanisms settled into place, a sense of foreboding touched her soul. There was the distinct feeling that the door would never be opened again.

Shaking herself out of her terror, she struggled harder towards to unattainable freedom. Doflamingo hadn't stopped walking, and neither had her body stopped being dragged.

"You're hair's shorter, too… Although it is longer than the last picture I have of you. Have you been growing it out?"

Through the muzzle, Is glared out of pure, blind terror, unable to do anything more. They were in his bedroom now, but still there was no sign of stopping. Doflamingo opened a secret door, and down the steps they went. Is grunted with each step she was dragged down, her head clanging as it hit each step, her ears ringing with a mix of blind panic and dizziness.

Down, down, down they went. For the first time since arriving at this wretched island, the air was cold here. For a moment, Is almost laughed at how remarkably clique it was of this villain, for him to have his own dungeon.

"I'm curious, do you remember me at all?"

Is didn't respond, but she could tell that Doflamingo still knew. Not for the first time, she wished that for once she was adept at hiding her emotions. He chuckled darkly. "And after all the things we had done together… for shame. Well… I suppose you won't forget this time."

Is wanted to believe that all he would do would be physical torture, but she knew what she was in for. Holding onto her tiny act of rebellion, she refused to scream for him even if she felt like the scream was clawing at the base of her throat, fighting for a way out.

No. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing anything besides her glare defiantly. He would not take away her dignity.

Her façade cracked for a moment, as she wondered what dignity a whore could possibly have.

He removed her chains and muzzle, using his strings to suspend her in this stone room. Glancing around, Is recognized the various implements in and around the room as torture supplies. There was even a drain on the floor and some blood stains from past victims. As he approached to touch her cheek, Is spat in his face.

He lost his smirk for a moment, touching at the spot on his face before his sadistic grin came back.

"So… I wonder what changed, my pet."

Struggling, she tried to keep her voice level. "My name is Is, asshole."

Doflamingo paused, slowly wiping the spit off of his face. "Is-chan, then. Where is Law?"

She scoffed. "Hell if I know. I left that fucker's ship."

"Oh?"

She turned, hoping to hide the tears that were threatening to spill. "Yep. He's an ass. I hate him."

Doflamingo smirked. "Really? Because I heard something different."

"And what are your sources?"

"That heartfelt letter you wrote him was sweet."

Is opened her mouth and then closed it. Damn. Well, there goes that plan. She had been planning on dropping that letter off at the last inn before Bellamy caught her.

Fucking Bellamy. He was gonna get what was coming to him, even if she had to kill him herself.

Doflamingo smirked again, and Is paled as he reached to touch her body. The strings on her body tightened again.

"Now, tell me, where were you planning on sending it?"

Then there came a moment of insane and stupid bravery. "Great question. Up your ass, maybe?"

Based off of the budging veins in his forhead, Is knew she was in for it now. Too late, as the words had already escaped. Curse her mouth, didn't she have any filters?

The strings cut into her flesh, but that tiny slice of pain wasn't what she was afraid of. Besides, she couldn't give him the satisfaction even if it _had_ hurt.

"Interesting. You still don't notice the pain then?"

Contrary to her panicked state of mind, her traitorous mouth continued, "Why do men always assume a lady just doesn't notice? Maybe you just aren't very good at it."

Doflamingo chuckled. "You have quite the mouth on you. I can see why Bellamy used the muzzle. Luckily for you, though, I have all night. In fact, I have many nights. I haven't gotten to have fun in a long time – I'll be able to enjoy myself to the fullest with you."

With that parting thought, he began. Is forgot when he switched from torture to rape, as they were both too similar in his own nature. All she knew was that she would not scream for him. She couldn't.

She couldn't let him win.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is was shaking when she woke up. Although her naked body had no visible wounds, every time she closed her eyes she could feel that man's sadistic touch pierce her and penetrate her in every orifice she had, and several she hadn't. He hadn't really seemed to care that she didn't know where Law was, but the moment the first tear had escaped his triumphant smile was quite clear.

She supposed she had a small triumph herself, biting him where he least expected it. But even though she had caused him some pain, it only had seemed to fuel his fire, and he had progressed from almost clinical and controlled passion to wanton and vengeful.

Alone now, suspended by the strings that held her up spread eagle, she sobbed silently.

Was this what it was like before? Is this what Law had saved her from?

At the thought of Law, the sobs only came back stronger. This was for him. If it hadn't… if she hadn't had run away, it would have—

The images of the visions she had that night came back, and she calmed her sobs of self-pity. With a few deep breaths, she regained control of herself. That never happened, and it never would. She had saved everyone on her ship, and they would be okay for now. Slowly, she began to weigh her seemingly hopeless options. Shaking herself, she forced herself to think pragmatically: what she needed to do now was escape these binds. Then and only then could she think of her next step.

After another few minutes of struggling between her self-pity and being distracted by her visions, she took in the strings that held her. They were taut, yes – but they were also just wrapped around her. Unlike chains, strings could…

She grimaced at her options. She'd never tried regrowing a limb before, but she supposed it was theoretically possible. Besides, if last night was any indication, she wouldn't last long here anyway.

She had no other choice.

Struggling to move the strings, she pulled on them, and winced, focusing on her right arm first. If she pulled just hard enough, she would be able to use the strings as a tourniquet to rip off her own arm.

That's it… that's it… and—

She bit back a scream as blood poured down her side. She tried to breathe in through her mouth, focusing on a single brick in the ground. There in a haze, out of the corner of her eye, she could see her arm swinging back and forth.

Fuck that had hurt. Stabbing yourself was one thing. Ripping off your own arm?

Iron settled in her heart as she prepared herself for the right leg now. She could already tell that her right arm was healing as the flow of blood ended. She didn't know how long she had. Doflamingo could be back at any moment now.

By the time she had gotten to her left leg, her right arm was back to normal. She didn't pause to think about anything else – the moment her last limb was severed, she began pulling herself with her fully formed limb, pushing with her partially formed ones. Up the stairs… if she just got up the stairs, she could jump out a window. She didn't need to breathe – if she could just get to the water… He wouldn't be able to reach her in the water.

Mentally, she slapped herself. She should have thought of that a long time ago. Fucking hindsight.

No wonder Law had a sub.

A brief smile passed by her lips as she inched her way up the stairs. With each passing moment, she regrew more of her limbs as she followed the curve of the stairs up, up.

Almost there. She had to be.

She paused. That was strange. There was a shoe there.

Then the terror struck her as she looked up into the eyes of Doflamingo himself. He was sitting, chin propped up on his hand as he smiled devilishly, and Is lost all coherent thought.

"And where do you think you're going?"

She opened her mouth to reply, but before she could he kicked her back down the stairs, strings pulling her against a wall. More strings wrapped around her mouth and gagged her as she blindly fought. Tears streamed down her face as the single thought passed into her mind.

 _No._

She screamed it in her mind, over and over again, looking something, anything, that she could use to escape. His footsteps echoed as he walked down the spiral staircase, into the room with her. He inspected the limbs she had left behind, still tied up in the strings, arms suspended and legs laying on the floor.

He poked one, saying, "I thought it was interesting when one of my lines went slack. You didn't seriously think you could escape, did you?"

He turned to her then, stepping forward while twitching his fingers. Her legs spread involuntarily as she finally screamed out her defiance, clutching onto the word as she repeated it to herself over and over.

 _No._

"My pet must be punished then, for hurting itself."

Pulling out a small knife, he used it to rape her very core. Just when is thought she couldn't take anything else, the knife was removed. Blind to anything but the panic, it was soon replaced and he fucked her bloodied and shredded vagina until finally, it healed itself. Is wept as pain was replaced with unwanted pleasure. Just to prove he could, the man cut into her while he continued to fuck her, telling her who she belonged to.

To her own shame, he forced her into an orgasm. She turned into a sobbing horrified mess as he continued to use her brutally. Eventually, the shame, humiliation, trauma and pain finally claimed her, and she passed out to the sound of wet slapping of flesh.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Is didn't know how long it had been since she was captured, only that it had been more than a week and less than a year. Every night, Doflamingo would come and rape her, torture her, and try to force out anything he could about Law. He would feed her sometimes, but the food was poisoned and would cause horrible reactions. He seemed to know that a regular dose wouldn't bother her, so he overloaded the food with chemicals. One particularly strong concoction that he forced down her throat had dissolved her flesh every step of the way. Every now and again, he would give her the chance to clean herself in a small tub, but only after she'd been heavily poisoned or with the promise of unspoiled food for her when she was finished.

Even if she wanted to, she couldn't tell him anything. The Shadows wouldn't let her.

She would break soon. She could feel it, as if she was dying. She was so weak.

The strings no longer just wrapped around her and held her in place – they pierced into her flesh so that she was held suspended in place by a thousand bleeding wounds that wouldn't heal, for every time they got close the string would move ever so slightly, opening the wound all over again.

And of course, there was the giant ring through her stomach.

Doflamingo had of course figured out that any item just put into her body would be eventually be pushed out. So after he had played with that for a while, he had created a ring out of his strings to go through her core. That had taken a lot longer for her body to reject, due to the fact that it had no end that could be pushed out.

At the moment, she was alone. It was impossible to tell time in this darkened chamber. At times when she was at her lowest point, she lost herself in the visions until she could believe that only those were real, and not what she was actually experiencing.

How ironic that she would spend so long trying to convince herself that the visions weren't real, only to now try to fully escape into them.

She took a shuddering breath, and looked up.

Finally. The Shadows. They were finally looking at her again.

Is croaked out. "You know, this is all your fault."

A tendril started to reach out, but paused.

"You know it is. If you hadn't had dropped me in the wrong fucking place, we wouldn't be in this mess."

There was a hum from the Shadows.

"Right, sorry, _I_ wouldn't be in this mess."

Another hum, and more tendrils.

"Just… can't you do something?"

An answer, and an impressed image.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. You can't directly interfere. But I am your fucking mistake. And you're gonna have to live with me for a very long time. I think you owe me something."

There was a pause, and the sound of a door opening. Is could hear his footsteps coming down the stairs.

Her laugh was empty. "Typical," she whispered to herself.

Doflamingo looked positively livid today behind his smile. Is knew she was in for it.

Just as he began to touch her, she blinked. The Shadows reached out for her, engulfing her. Her awareness of the ordinary world faded, and for just a moment, there was sweet relief.

This was not them ripping out her soul. No. Whatever it was, she went willingly.

Anything to escape the monster in the room.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Had it been months? Or had it been years?

It seemed like Doflamingo had finally gotten bored of his plaything. How long had she been waiting here for him? She didn't know.

She was out of strength.

With a diet of poisoned or moldy food given occasionally and the amount that he had been torturing her, she had steadily lost all weight. She was little more than a skeleton now, held suspended in this darkened room by silken strands.

Breathe in.

She knew she was dying. Her body simply couldn't continue without sustenance.

Breathe out.

Her heart stuttered. Then—

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

It stopped. No more air.

Her brain fought weakly, but she was out of oxygen.

Back to the Shadows she went. She didn't care anymore. She just wanted to die.

The last thought on her mind was a smirk, and the caress of tattooed hands.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law prevented himself from pacing on the Straw Hat's ship. He wondered what Is would think of Luffy and his crew.

He grimaced. He supposed he already knew what she'd think. She would adore them all – they were far too much like her. Maybe that's why he liked them so much.

He swallowed his groan. No. No way was he going to ever admit he liked these crazy assholes. Even though he just did, that wasn't the point. He was only using their absurdly high levels of strength (and the fact that he didn't give a fuck about their wellbeing) to destroy the factory – Kaido would do the rest. Only once Kaido had destroyed Doflamingo would Law be able to get at Is.

At least, he hoped he would be able to.

He shoved his doubts into the back of his mind and called the Straw Hats to attention as he detailed out his plan. Hopefully they were better at following orders than their wayward Captain.

/./././././././././././././././././././

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Cat


	35. Chapter 35

Law's jaw clenched, his whole body on edge as he prepared for the worst-case scenario. Ironically, with Fujitora here and all of his newly found allies stuck elsewhere, it was worse than even his worst-case scenario. He could never have imagined how far Doflamingo would have gone to have tricked just ten people.

He was truly fucked now.

As his mind raced to try to think of some kind of strategy, a second part of his brain swirled with self-deprecating thoughts. He should have seen it coming. He should have known that Doflamingo was far more resourced than even he knew. He should have known he was walking straight into a trap.

"I have only one purpose, Law."

Law repressed a shudder as memories mixed with his terrified thoughts, and he knew that if he didn't do something soon he was going to die a horrific death.

Goddamnit, why couldn't she have warned him about this?

"I just wanted to kill you."

Yep. He was dead. Dead dead dead.

"Joker!" Screamed Caeser, finally shaking Law out of his downward spiral, "Kick this guy's ass already-"

Law grabbed Caeser, ironically his only hope now, and shouted towards Doflamingo. "I'm not going to hand him over to you!"

That sounded braver than it was, didn't it?

"You didn't do anything that I asked you to! Doflamingo, this deal is off!"

Caeser started screaming in his ear, but Law was far too focused on the two in front of him. While he maybe had a tiny chance against one, against both…

He watched them carefully, waiting for the slightest change in their breathing, a twitch, anything to give him a moment's notice before they attacked.

Doflamingo laughed, and Law hoped that his amusement was a cue of underestimating Law's power, not at detecting how scared he was. His eyes narrowed for a moment. Fuck it all, this goddamn man had to die. There had to be a solution, somewhere, anywhere.

After ten years , he couldn't fail now. The last decade had been Law planning his demise. Plus, she was here on Dressrosa. Doflamingo had Isabelle somewhere, he was sure of it. A year and a half of searching and ten years of planning gone down the fucking toilet because he got too eager.

He was too important to die, wasn't he? Wasn't that the whole reason that Is was there in the first place? She was his because he was so important to the whole world?

But then a conversation between him and Shakky repeated in his mind.

 _"I thought that she was supposed to protect me, Shakky. How the hell is she supposed to do that from so fucking far away?" Law paced back and forth in front of the too calm Shakky. He had hoped that the older woman would at least have an inkling as to where his guide had gone, but she had had nothing._

 _She sucked on her cigarette, held it in for a moment, and then exhaled right into Law's face. His fingers twitched. He wasn't sleeping, he was barely eating, and goddamnit if she didn't answer him soon he was going to—_

 _"There are two possibilities that I can think of."_

 _Law didn't realize he'd stopped pacing, as he was far too focused on Shakky's words._

 _"First, her leaving the ship prevented something disastrous from happening. Say, a certain warlord showing up and killing everyone." Law blood ran cold for a moment._

 _"That would be… logical. The reason why she went missing in the first place. If he's still after her, that would be why she's still running. I can't imagine how she's done it, when we both know that woman can barely walk around a town without smacking into people and things. You know as well as I do Shakky that she has too much trouble with reality to—"_

 _Unless. Unless…_

 _The Shadows. The last few weeks on the ship… she'd be in direct communication. She was holding conversations, she told him that much. Well, he'd almost thought that she was joking, since she'd been so candid about it… Goddamnit he was a fool._

 _Shakky nodded. "The second possibility…"_

 _Law prevented himself from tapping his foot in impatience. His temper was shorter than usual these days._

 _Shakky's eyes glazed over for a moment, before she changed her tone. "… We aren't meant to directly interfere, Law. I was bonded to a first mate, not a Captain. My predecessor was bonded to a steward, not a king. It's possible that your role is over, in terms of why you needed a guided."_

 _His role? His fucking role was over? What the hell did that mean? He hadn't accomplished anything since she had fallen into his life – he'd barely begun. He proceeded to leave out the front door to find some pirates to mutilate and some women to fuck._

Now though… it was possible that he wasn't needed. He might just die here.

He steeled himself. He wasn't dead yet, there was no fucking way he'd –

What was the one thing that he had done? The thing he had done before Is first tried to return was to save Straw Hat and treat his injuries. The last message he'd gotten?

 _Punk Hazard. Straw Hat._

Was… was it all for Straw Hat? Was that the point of everything?

Doflamingo had been speaking, but now it was Fujitora, the newest admiral. He presented Law with a choice: either claim that the Straw Hats were his underlings, and then maybe survive this mess and lose his chance to destroy the factory, or admit that it was a straight up alliance and try to buy some time for the Straw Hat pirates to destroy the factory.

His mind raced. If he said that they were his underlings… first of all, that wouldn't last, they were all terrible liars and Straw Hat didn't seem like the kind of guy to agree to that anyway. Second, even if he did lie and hope that would all work out, Doflamingo would just kill him later. And third…

Third, if he said they were his underlings, they would go back to Dressrosa, Doflamingo would get Caeser, and there was no chance of destroying the factory. Everything would be lost.

He'd live, but at what cost?

What was the point of him living, anyway? Hadn't he… already served his purpose?

Law's eyes narrowed, his choice made. Goddamnit, he didn't care if he was destined to die here, he was going to do everything in his power to fuck Doflamingo's day up. All it required was for him to be a distraction, maybe for just a little bit longer, and it would all be fine. He was sure.

He'd never been more unsure in his life, but it was time to make a choice.

He drew in a breath, and shouted at Fujitora.

"The Straw Hats are not working under me! We're allies as you read in the paper!"

He just hoped he'd live long enough to slap his seer in the face. Or see her. Yeah. If he could just see her, that would be worth it.

So until then, he had to be prepared.

So he faced his opponents, determination set in his jaw. The determination left briefly when a comet descended from the fucking sky, however.

Fucking admiral.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

When Law came to, he knew that if he had any actually energy, he'd be throwing up right now.

Fuck, everything hurt. Why'd everything hurt?

Oh yeah. Doflamingo.

He groaned slightly, unable to move beyond that. He blinked as he mentally took a tally of himself, his body, and what had happened.

He'd done the unthinkable is what he'd done. He was trusting Straw Hat to finish the fight. They had fought Doflamingo together, and yet every single strategy that Law had devised both over the last ten years and over the last few days with the rubber man had failed. While they together had weakened Doflamingo… the man was even more of a monster than he had ever anticipated.

And what he had said, back in that throne room, when Law was originally shot…

 _"You'll join your girlfriend soon."_

Law had refused to believe that Is was dead. There was just no way – but there had been no hiding that Doflamingo had hit a sore spot in Law's soul, and the bastard had reveled in it. He never mentioned another word about the woman. Then again, he didn't need to. He had plenty of other things to dangle in front of Law to torment him.

Straw Hat Luffy… Law hoped that if he succeeded, Doflamingo would die painfully. He could devise a few ways to make his passing worse, although he doubted that Straw Hat would let him.

He doubted the world would let him – Doflamingo, Shichibukai and Celestial Dragon. You can't make this shit up.

Something tickled in the back of his mind… like a forgotten dream.

That was strange. His arm seemed like it had reattached itself. Had he done that?

Oh. The blonde guy was talking. That's right – battle was still happening. He'd asked the blonde guy to let him stay. God, had he begged? What would Is say about that…

Hopefully, she'd never hear it.

"… their Princess even has to power to heal. I hope that your arm reconnects properly. They say when the blood starts flowing, it'll be cured."

Law wanted to groan again. That wasn't exactly true – he knew he was in for a lot of surgery to fix the extensive nerve damage, and it was possible that it would never fully reconnect. But no need to let this blonde buffoon know that.

He managed to say, "I know. I'm a doctor."

Cavendish continued talking about the reverberations of this battle. Law half listened, but another part of his mind was tickling him… He'd forgotten something. He knew he had. But what was it?

Blonde man finished, and Law supposed he should say something. "Yeah… I'm well aware of what will happen." He wasn't a fucking idiot.

But why…

He thought back, allowing his mind to wander wherever it wanted to take him. It was something about the Celestial Dragon, he was sure of it. But what…

His mind circled around his earlier thoughts, about his role being finished. He was putting all of his faith into Straw Hat, a man who was willing to give everything for Law even if he had no right to. Law smiled briefly. Thinking back on this battle, this was so typical of Straw Hat – he had literally made friends every step of the way. No angles. Nothing he required from them. Even if he hated to say it, the short man was starting to grow on Law himself. It was nice to be able to look at someone and know in an instant that he could trust the godforsaken man with his life. He had practically an entire army at his disposal, and that was just at this one stupid island. He had an army and even a couple of Kings-

Something clicked.

 _"The King will stop it. The King will end the beast, but only with help. He needs lots of help."_

 _"Ah… water… Oh, something… um, water ruins dragon, but only if the King succeeds. Mega lame."_

The man had an army at his disposal. He had the help of not one, but many nations backing him against Doflamingo – _a celestial dragon._ And this whole plan was put into motion by none other than Trafalgar D. Water Law.

Motherfucker, the squirt was the King.

Law chuckled a little. He'd already played his hand. If Straw Hat succeeded, Doflamingo would be ruined. But that was only if he succeeded.

If he didn't… well… Law had already died a few times on this goddamn island. What was once more?

And there was nothing that said that just because Is called him the King that he would become the King of the Pirates. Law could always take that title later for himself.

But that was just a fevered daydream at this point. Besides… if he killed Doflamingo… it might be worth letting the squirt be the King. Law would owe him more than just his life.

From his position, he continued to watch the battle, a tiny smirk tucked into the corner of his mouth. Luffy would win. If he didn't, then he'd never face Kaido, which would make at least one prophecy fail – and his seer hadn't failed him yet.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law shifted slightly, and found his sword slipping through his fingers. He had surprised even himself when he had enough energy to create a room and save the falling Straw Hat. Unfortunately, it seemed that was the extent of the energy he'd managed to save since waking up to a reattached arm on the plateau.

For a moment, he just stared at the man who had defeated Doflamingo. Straw Hat had passed out, of course. Typical.

He supposed he wasn't far from that fate himself.

He could hear the cheers of people all around, and both the women on this rooftop were crying with tears of joy. It was a relief, he supposed. His fight was finally finished. Ten years of his life… the chapter was finally fading.

Except for one detail.

"You… brunette woman. Your name is Violet, right?"

The beautiful woman turned to him, wiping a few tears away as she did so. Law almost laughed. There was a time that he might have tried to woo her. But now… now there was only one thing on his mind.

She had nodded in response. Law grunted as he shifted again. He said, "I don't know how long ago… but did you see a woman being brought to the castle? Blonde hair, and strange colored eyes."

Her tears stopped, and the woman grew pale. Law noted this, but continued, "She's my crewmate. Have you seen her?"

She looked guilty. He supposed that was natural – the woman could pretend all she wanted to be a good person, but Law knew what was required to be a member of the Doflamingo family. She was probably as corrupted as he was, except that she might not accept her evil as Law had.

"I… I don't know. He's brought many women to the castle."

Law shook his head. "This one was special. She used to belong to him – a slave of some kind, spouting off nonsense, ability to heal, that sort of thing."

Her breath hitched, and Law could see the hardness forming in her coal black eyes. There it was. That was the sharpness that would define her as a member of the Doflamingo family. He tucked his smirk away. This was her true self.

For a moment, she said nothing. The pink haired girl seemed none-the-wiser of the entire exchange. Violet seemed to glance at her for a moment, as if assessing the younger woman before she answered Law.

"After this… After your injuries are taken care of, I will look for her."

Law caught her meaning. That was bad. She was scared of what the pink haired girl – Rebecca? – might hear or see.

Law shifted again, lying down to rest finally. "See that it's done soon. You do owe me quite a bit."

Law closed his eyes, not caring that the woman was probably drowning in the guilt of her own complacency. For now, he needed rest. He was sure that Is would be upset if he didn't heal soon.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

It only took a few hours for Violet to call Law to the Castle. She sent a message through one of the many villagers, someone who offered to carry Law on a stretcher. He resisted the urge to skin the man as he firmly refused, and began the long walk there. He supposed it was dumb, but he told himself that he needed to keep appearances up. What would she say if she found out he'd needed a stretcher. It was bad enough that Straw Hat had carried him around all over in such a stupid position.

He'd already been all bandaged up, and the few hours of semi-decent rest had done much to help jumpstart his healing. He supposed that another benefit to his power was the simple fact that it took him so much less time to heal than a normal person. He still wasn't all right by any stretch of the imagination. His thumb and right finger wouldn't touch on his severed arm still, and his fist was weak. It would probably take weeks of preforming small surgeries on himself to fix the damage that Doflamingo had done.

The bastard hadn't at least done him the decency of giving his arm a clean cut. Instead, he had used that goddamn saw.

The sun was beginning it's decent when he finally made it to the Castle. Violet stood at the steps, waiting for him.

That was odd. He was expecting the cold, obsidian hardness in her eyes from before. But this…

She wouldn't meet his eyes, but he could tell that she'd been sobbing. There were tearstains on her cheeks, and puffiness around her eyes. More than that, there was a heaviness in the air around the woman.

"… Where is she?" Law asked hesitantly.

Violet straightened, turned, and led the way into a backroom. When she opened the door, Law took a moment to take in the sight. Compared to many of the other rooms, this one was quite small. Inside was a single bed – no, wait, more like a cot. There was a lump underneath a sheet—

No. No. That was impossible.

A doctor was by the bedside. He had looked up when Violet had first opened the door. With a nod to the ashamed Princess, he gently motioned for Law to approach.

"We're not sure, Mr. Trafalgar, but… We'd like you to identify her, if you can."

He wasn't sure when he had approached the cot. Maybe had teleported. He wasn't sure how many heartbeats had passed. Was he even still breathing?

The man slowly pulled back the sheet, to reveal just her face. He stopped there, but Law grabbed his hand, not recognizing where the strength had come from. He forced the other man, clearly another doctor, to remove the whole sheet.

The body was barely more than a skeleton. Tuffs of hair had fallen out, and there were gapping holes all over her body, the largest being at the top of her pelvis bone – a hole the size of his arm was there. The more minor cuts, burns, and scratches were innumerable, and even a few of her fingers were missing. Her toes were simply shredded, as if someone had sent them through a grinder. Organs had clearly been falling out of her middle when they had removed her body from wherever it had come from. Wherever they had found it. To be fair, it was honestly unrecognizable from the amount of damage he'd done. It could have been anyone. It could… it could have…

But no. He knew that face, even as battered and gaunt as it was.

No, no this was impossible… she was immortal, damnit. Distantly, he realized he'd broken the poor doctor's hand. A part of his body relaxed, and there was a vague notion that he'd let go. Some words were exchanged, a hand touched his shoulder and then was gone.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three.

His mind both raced and was blank. As if he was collapsing into himself, suddenly he wasn't sure that his heart would continue to beat at all. It was so loud, and pounding so slowly in his chest.

She was immortal… except she needed food. Everyone needed food. What happened when an immortal's body died? What happened?

Where was she?

She looked… peaceful. Rage burned in Law's heart. Rage, anger, and… He held his hand to his face. He tried to wipe away the sudden urge for tears. She wouldn't want him to cry in front of her, would she? What would she say? He was Trafalgar Law. Trafalgar D. Water Law. The former Shichibukai, the orchestrator of Doflamingo's downfall, the Surgeon of Death.

He didn't cry. No.

A sound escaped his lips, and he fell to his knees. He'd failed. Everything failed. He'd gotten revenge for Cora-san… but for what?

He didn't know how long he'd sat there, on his knees, trying to hold together the broken pieces of his soul before her body.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three.

Any moment now, any moment his heart would stop. It had to. This… this pain. This is how it felt to die, didn't it?

He hadn't even seen her in years. This wasn't fair. She shouldn't affect him like this.

She always had.

Now here she was, the only person he had ever fallen for, and the only one he ever would fall for. Her mutilated corpse sat there right in front of him. The surgeon in him carefully took count of her wounds as he slowly traced her body up and down with his eyes. He diagnosed each and every one, including making vague guesses at what instruments were used for her torture. For this had been torture – even he couldn't have been this cruel or twisted to her. There were lines on her face that Law assumed were from screaming, rips at the corners of her lips from forcing her jaw open. He bit his lip. The wounds still seemed fresh. It was possible… it was possible that he was only hours too late. After nearly two years of near misses, and he only just missed her again.

He hung his head, finally standing. He needed rest, and he would get none here. In the morning… The sunlight filtering through the windows that he'd not noticed before was the last dying rays of a sunset. Had so much time passed?

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three.

He finally removed his eyes from her, bending his stiff body to grab the sheet. If nothing else… he would give her a burial. He couldn't do so now, he was too weak. He would give her the dignity that she deserved in death that she didn't have in the last… how long?

How long had she been here? He hesitated for a moment, holding back the covers for just a fraction of a second.

How long had she been dead?

Her body looked freshly dead, but… maybe… just maybe… it wasn't. Holding the sheet with one hand, he reached out to brush her cheek, softly, gently. A tiny flame of hope burned in his chest, and he wondered if it was making him delusional. He clearly had to be.

His skin made contact with hers for the first time since he walked into this room, the barest brush as he realized he was holding his breath.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three.

Four. Five. Six.

Nothing. No spark. He swallowed the anguished cry that threatened to come out as he cupped her cheek with his hand. The hope was refusing to die, and he tried to quash it. There was no physical way for her to come back – she was dead, and that was that.

And yet, even though he told his hand to move… It didn't. The sheet covered most of her now, and he leaned over her, placing his forehead to her.

"… Isabelle… Isabelle, if you're there… say something. Anything. I…" he swallowed, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me, but I… I can't…"

The hope was finally starting to fade again, and as if something had released he remembered every moment he had touched foreheads with her before. He waited for her eyes to open, for her to give a satisfied hum for an obnoxious giggle.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three.

"I… I can't stay… I have to… If you're there…"

What should he say? She was gone now. He hadn't felt this small and alone since he'd lost Cora. He almost laughed for a moment – Cora would have loved her. Those two would have gotten along great, and he would have embraced her every quirk and weirdness.

"I order you to wake up."

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three.

"Isabelle… you're…"

He couldn't say it. She was right her in front of him and he still couldn't say it. He couldn't even tell her corpse that he loved her. Damn that pride of his, he couldn't…

What was he doing? She was a corpse. He needed to let go.

He started to pull away, removing his forehead first. He straightened himself, before beginning to slowly remove his hand from her emaciated cheek.

Just as the last fingertip began to lift, the tiniest spark tickled his skin. He held the sheet, frozen for a single moment before touching her again, determined to know if she was still playing with his heart from beyond the fucking grave.

But there it was. It was so small, so tiny, so…

Of course. Of course, he'd been blind – she simply couldn't breathe. Fuck, why hadn't he thought of it before. Of course she's alive under there, she just didn't…

Without pausing to think anymore, he practically leaped from her bedside, and flung open the door. Since it was so close to the main entrance, Violet was there, directing villages on where to go to help fix things up. Law strode up to her.

"I need two things from you, without question and as fast as you can."

The woman was bewildered and probably terrorized at the zealousness in Law's voice. If he'd been looking at himself, he probably would have noticed how crazy he seemed. He probably was crazy. He was probably just trying to get a corpse to come back to life. This defied everything possible in any medical field, even in every religious field.

"I need a feeding tube, and broth – a large bowl of it. Now."

She pursed her lips, about to question him before turning to the nearest servant and requesting what he needed. She turned back to Law, and he fought to keep still. Hope made him rather impatient.

"May I ask…"

Law rubbed his newly healed arm and grimaced, before asking her, "The woman that I asked you to look for, when did she first appear?"

She looked started for a moment, then guilty. "I-I don't –"

"Cut the crap, Violet," snapped Law. "Tell me the fucking truth."

She jumped at his sharpness, then the hardness returned to her eyes. "About six months ago."

Law nodded stiffly. "Six months. And did Doflamingo order dinner for two often?"

She blinked. "I… No. Not that I'm aware of…"

"Perfect." Law began pacing. Where were those damn supplies? "If you think about it, it's pretty simple. Whether or not he was feeding her regular people food, it wasn't enough calorie consumption to keep up with the demands of constant torture. So if I thought about it conservatively, and assumed that he fed her twice a day every day, then she probably wouldn't last longer than one or two months, three tops."

"I… I don't…"

"Which would mean that she died three to five months ago."

A sympathetic look entered her eyes, softening her features. "Mr. Law… I'm sorry for your loss, but—"

Law held up a hand to silence her. "And if she died so long ago, _why hasn't she decomposed?_ "

The woman blinked stupidly. Law sighed. "There isn't even signs of rigor mortis, and that happens just hours after death. There's only one answer, Princess Violet."

The servant finally came back with a bowl of broth and a feeding tube, Law took the items, and instructed the servant to come back every 20 minutes with more broth before returning back to the room with his seer.

"Mr. Law, you can't just try feeding a dead body!" Violet hissed out as she followed him into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Law paused for a moment, the rage cooling his hope and chilling his blood. He replied calmly and evenly to the woman behind him.

"Violet, this is my crew member. You've already killed her once – don't do so again."

With that, he carefully set down the bowl and feeding tube next to the corpse in front of him. He removed the blanket, first needing to check to see if she even had a stomach with which he could work.

She did.

He inserted the tube down her throat, carefully placing it where it needed to be. Ever so gently, he poured the soup down into the tube, just a tiny bit at a time as to not overwhelm the organ, and he checked to make sure that there were no rips or tears that would spill the broth out where it didn't belong. Well… there weren't any in the stomach anyway. Looking down, the small and large intestines had much less to work with.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three.

Now it was a waiting game. As he finished pouring the soup down the tube, he heard the tap of heels against stone as Violet circled to the other side of the bed.

"This… do you think… it's really possible?"

Law looked up briefly, before his eyes stared back at Isabelle's broken body, desperately looking for some sign, any sign, to tell him that it was working. "… I don't know."

Some time passed, and a knock sounded at the door. Violet answered it, procuring the bowl without letting the servant look in. When she handed it to Law, he looked at her quizzically.

She shook her head. "What you are doing here… if they knew, they would riot. At the very least, you are messing with a dead body."

Law nodded. That was something he hadn't thought about. To be fair, he didn't really have the energy to. It had been a rather long day.

As he waited, Violet lit the torches around the room before the sun finished setting. At the end of the second bowl, Law grinned. He knew he was going to succeed. Despite two large bowls of broth, her stomach had not expanded – meaning it had to be going somewhere.

Violet said nothing, and he offered her nothing. She continued to answer the door for him.

The moon was just beginning to rise when Law finally saw progress – her wounds were starting to heal, slowly but surely. Then…

Violet was holding the bowl when Isabelle's body jerked the first time. There was the sound of shattered ceramic, and Law quickly but carefully removed the tube from Isabelle's mouth. Her chest moved again, and Law gritted his teeth. He placed a single hand on her chest, and prayed that he had enough strength for this.

"Room."

He created a tiny room, just around her heart – the heart her body was desperately trying to start.

"Counter Shock!"

He bit his lip as the move sucked the last of his energy out of his body. He somehow propped himself up against the bed as he heard the body in front of him suck in a deep breath.

One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Three.

His hand still on her chest, he smiled weakly. Isabelle gulped in air before him, her heart beating angrily underneath his palm. He glanced up at Violet's shocked face.

"Told you."

She blinked in shock, before rushing out of the room. He didn't care. He touched Isabelle's cheek with his other hand, feeling a tiny spark that was starting to grow in strength.

She was okay.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Violet caught Law as he collapsed, holding him until a servant came in with a chair. Another doctor came in, and she instructed him to do exactly as Law had done to the reanimated woman unconscious before her. She hadn't believed that she could see any more miracles in a single day… but once again, the pirates proved her wrong. She blinked back tears, a smile on her lips as this mutilated body came to life before her eyes. She laughed slightly – no one would ever believe her.

She sent Law away then, sending him to rest with the other Straw Hats at her brother-in-law's. She would take care of the woman he called Is.

It was time to start wiping some of the red off of her ledger.


	36. Chapter 36

"Stupid peacock, what do you think you're doing!" yelled the blonde Cavendish. Unfortunately, Bartolomeo didn't seem to hear him. He'd woken up wrapped in chains, which was uncomfortable to say the least. His hair was a mess, his clothes were wrinkled, and there were definitely a few grease stains on them. Wherever the green Mohawk haired man had gotten those chains, he definitely hadn't washed them.

Then the asshole had gone and lost the goddamn keys.

The green-haired punk was standing just out of reach of Cavendish's kick, and picking his goddamn nose.

"Sorry, Cabbage –"

"IT'S CAVENDISH!"

"—but I don't know where it is. We're probably safer with you there, though—"

"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN YOU—"

"Um… Mr. Pirate?" said a feminine voice from just outside the room. Cavendish turned from a glare to a smolder. This place was teeming with attractive young ladies.

"I, um, found this when I was cleaning this morning…"

Cavendish smiled warmly at the woman, inviting her closer. In her hand was a single key. "My dear, what a wonder you are. I believe that was exactly what I needed. Please, unchain me so that I might wring that filthy man's neck."

She shyly stepped forward while Bartolomeo stuck out his tongue at Cavendish, this time digging wax out of his ear.

In moments, Cavendish was up and stalking towards Bartolomeo, his rapier in his hand, ready to –

Huh. That was strange. He turned to the young maid who was busy collecting the chains in a neat pile. "Excuse me, but… is there a feast today?"

Bartolomeo lit up at the thought of a feast, his eyes aglow and sputtering nonsense about Straw Hat waking up early.

The maid shook her head. "No, my lord. Princess Violet has requested it for a patient of hers."

"Ah! Luffy-senpai~!" squealed the exuberant Bartolomeo, and he proceeded to dash out of the room, following an enormous tray of food. Cavendish shook his head, but figured he should also greet Straw Hat. Well, as soon as he had cleaned himself up. He procured a brush and washcloth from the maid before she left, and cleaned himself to the best of his ability in a nearby bathroom. As he left the bathroom, another tray of food walked by, and he followed it to a side room just off of the main entrance hall. He held the door for the man burdened by the food, and paused.

Wait. That wasn't Straw Hat.

Bartolomeo was currently sitting by the bedside of a very ill looking young woman. She practically looked like a skeleton underneath her nightgown, and was listening politely to Bartolomeo as he regaled her with a much-embellished story of the events the day before. Cavendish narrowed his eyes. There was something odd about this woman.

First, Princess Violet was there, handing her food items to eat, holding a glass of water and sitting opposite of the door. The Princess was waiting on this sickly woman.

Second, the woman looked not only ill and severely malnourished, but there was something… otherworldly about her. Cavendish approached slowly, not sure what it was that was bothering him. All of his instincts were on edge for a bedridden woman with a surprisingly large appetite.

Violet greeted Cavendish with a warm smile before standing up.

"Bartolomeo, could you help her for a while? I'm afraid I have some other duties to attend to. I'll send someone to take over in a short while."

Bartolomeo nodded, barely pausing in his wild retellings. Cavendish listened, arms folded across his chest as he studied her. It was when she looked up, into his eyes, that he caught his breath.

Her eyes… they were not a single color. He supposed they were green, yes. But there were specks of other colors in there, specks of blue, brown, gold, and black. Her expression was dazed, and she had a small smile tucked into the corner of her thin lips. She might have been pretty once, but whatever she had gone through had stripped her of whatever prettiness she once had. Her hair, where it wasn't bald, was just barely touching her shoulders.

"The two faced man, come to play…" She giggled. Her voice had been as airy as her expression, but something about it chilled Cavendish to his bones. Bartolomeo seemed none the wiser, and she returned to eating while politely seeming to listen to his stories.

Cavendish folded his arms in front of him to keep himself from drawing his sword, and leaned against the wall. This… woman. There was something unnatural about her.

He continued to observe her, telling himself that he was intrigued and not because he had any desire to protect the stupidly ignorant man in front of him. He was so focused that he even let Bartolomeo call him Cabbage twice before he interrupted and hit the dipshit. She simply giggled. She never stopped eating, and whenever her food plate started to dwindle, another servant would come in with another large plate of food, almost perfectly timed for her to start eating again. It was probably an hour or more before she put down her food and touched Bartolomeo gently on the arm.

"Not today, no, but tomorrow. Yes. Be prepared. You'll take me, too. Start gathering supplies, make your plans, be ready."

And with that, she went back to eating. Was it just his imagination, or did she have a bit more color to her cheeks than when he first arrived? No, he must have imagined it. Although at the rate that she was eating, he was surprised that she didn't weigh a thousand pounds.

Right around midday, the door opened and Violet returned. She glanced quickly at both Cavendish and Bartolomeo, and gave them a grateful smile. Cavendish pulled out his signature rose – this was why he stuck around. He never could resist a request from a pretty lady. It had nothing to do with the idiot that had made him sleep in chains all night.

Violet walked straight to her former spot on the opposite side of the bed from Bartolomeo. She gently took the woman's wrists, examining both of her arms for a brief moment. Then she asked the bedridden woman, "How about your stomach? How is that one doing?"

She giggled, sending another unnatural tingle down Cavendish's spine. "All better. Just gaining weight now. How's Captain? Oh. Still asleep? Yep. Sleepy sleepy."

Cavendish blinked. Which Captain was she talking about? Was she a pirate, or a marine? His guard went back up.

Violet nodded, then turned to the men and asked, "Did she say anything?"

Cavendish nodded. He reflectively smoothed the creases on his shirtsleeve as the agitation started to get to him, and he repeated what she had told Bartolomeo less than 30 minutes ago. She nodded, and handed the woman a glass of water to drink.

For a moment, Cavendish shifted uncomfortably as he watched them interact. The sickly woman didn't really seem to notice them too much, and started muttering to herself about something Cavendish couldn't hear. She blinked, then snorted, then muttered again.

He shook his head. It was as if the woman was having a conversation with something. And yet, all this time, Bartolomeo continued his story, and the unperturbed Princess Violet wiped her face gently before handing her more food to eat. For a moment, she squealed excitedly about the sudden appearance of food.

Wait. That was it. It was as if _they_ were the ones fading in and out of her perception. That was it. As if they were secondary.

Cautiously, Cavendish folded his arms, delicately keeping a hold on his rose. "Princess Violet, who exactly is this woman?"

The Princess spared a lingering glance to Cavendish, seeming to both size him up and contemplate her answer for a moment, before she went back to examining her.

"Is… When he left yesterday, he gave me a Vivre card for him. I want you to stay here - you won't be ready to go when they need to leave. For all we know, the military could step in at any moment to try to capture them. You need time to heal, and I'm not sure that the pirate life is a good idea for you, anyway."

The sickly woman actually cackled with a mouth full of food before she swallowed and grinned at Violet. Her eyes were unfocused as she spoke. "Right. You think I'm gonna sit here on my butt?"

Violet spared another glance up towards the other pirates on the opposite side of her bed, before she frowned and glanced back at her. "We'll treat you well here—"

"Princess?"

"Yes?"

"Go fuck yourself."

Cavendish bristled at the insult, ready to smack the sickly woman. Instead, the Princess sighed, and spoke softly. "Keep eating, then. I'm going back to help Rebecca adjust. I won't help you escape with us when it is your time to go, so you'll have to get yourself there."

The woman smiled triumphantly, before saluting her with a chicken wing. "Yes, ma'am!"

Bartolomeo spoke, "Should we get Princess Mansherry to help heal her?"

Violet shook his head. "It won't help. I think it is just food she's missing now."

Cavendish folded his arms, and scathingly added, "That and her hair." And her sanity, clearly, but he didn't need to mention that.

The sickly woman smiled up at him, her unnerving gaze making Cavendish fight the urge to squirm. "Previously it was a few internal organs, so I'm glad those came back. It was a little too breezy for me." She laughed at her own joke, and Cavendish swallowed the shiver. She was joking, right? She had to be.

Violet stood to leave the room, stepping around the bed with a quick, parting goodbye.

The bedridden patient stuck out her tongue at the Princess, cheeks full of chicken as she chewed away, humming happily to herself. In between bites, she motioned for Bartolomeo to continue his story.

Cavendish shook his head, leaving the room as soon as a maid came in to help take care of the sickly woman. He checked in later, finally pulling Bartolomeo away to plan how to safely extract Straw Hat when the navy attacked. He could have sworn the young woman had visibly gained weight, but that was impossible. Just as impossible, he supposed, as having multi-colored eyes.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law supposed he shouldn't have been surprised that he was asleep for two full days before he woke up finally. When he did, the first thing he attended to was performing the much-needed surgeries on himself. That took up most of the morning. Aligning nerves perfectly and reattaching them, particularly after they had already started to heal, was a delicate and nasty business. By the end of it, he revised his earlier assertion – that fairy Princess with the healing fruit was clearly doing more than he had originally assumed. The rest was just time.

He leaned back against the wall in this tiny cabin, surprised that none of the Straw Hats had stepped on him in this time. Taking in his surroundings, it seemed that everyone had woken up besides Luffy. Well, and the two samurai were gone.

After breakfast, he'd be getting ready to go see Is… but if the navy attacked, he was prepared. He'd already bullied Violet into accepting her in the castle if they ended up leaving before his seer was ready.

He grit his teeth. Fuck, she was so close, and still he couldn't have her around. Now that he knew she was alive, if not well… but he couldn't guarantee that the military would wait until she was fully recovered to get her.

After breakfast… After breakfast he would get her, consequences be damned. He was not leaving her behind yet again.

Just as he was about to ask where breakfast was, the two bumbling buffoons that bothered calling themselves samurai showed up with a huge bag of food. Luffy finally woke up as the smell wafted through the air. Law ate quietly as he listened to the news about the increases in military presence since he'd been asleep. He frowned as he tried to devise a strategy to get into the castle if there were scores of the military at the entrance.

He was just about to get up to go get his seer when Bartolomeo burst in and fucked up Law's day. Motherfucker.

Law gritted his teeth, picked up his things, and got ready to leave.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law stared out at the expanse of the water, lost in his thoughts, _finally_ alone. He took a deep breath to prevent him from throwing a fit. The last thing he wanted was for anyone here to guess how much that woman meant to him. Even if he wanted to trust them… well, that just wasn't done, Luffy being the single exception.

There was so much that he still had to process. The idea that Cora-san had… actually loved him, and that it had nothing to do with his secret name still had him reeling. There was the fact that he had actually survived this whole experience, that his arm would be fully healed in a few weeks after being ripped off, the fact that fucking Luffy of all people was this King that he's spent the last two years in anticipation of…

And the fact that the disappearing island behind them held the one person he loved the most.

He knew she'd be well taken care of. He'd made sure of it before Violet made him finally go rest with the others. It was stupid, he supposed, that his chest actually ached. He finally had her within reach, and once again she had slipped through his fingers.

The partying had been almost unbearable. He was definitely not in the mood to party when they were getting further and further away from his seer. Besides, the idea that he had asked Straw Hat along because he was disposable, and he not only walked out of the whole experience _alive_ but also more powerful than he had ever been previously was irony at its highest level.

His gaze softened for a moment as his mind did its usual thing and circled back to Isabelle. His Isabelle. The last year and a half without her… If he cared to, he could peak into the corner of his mind that had literally counted the hours. His crew had continued to talk about her as if she was right around the corner, about to pop out anywhere whenever they thought that he wasn't around, or that he couldn't hear them. Her room remained untouched, even though he knew that she'd never end up using it. Although there were days that he wanted to kill her himself for the pain that she'd caused him… The moment he thought he'd see her again, all of it had disappeared from his mind. All he could think about was the fact that she was there, and that he would hear her voice, see her smile again. He resisted the twitch in his fingers, as he remembered that tiny spark from when he started her heart up again. It wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough to compensate for the last year and a half.

There were footsteps behind him, and Robin's airy voice spoke behind him.

"We can't see Dressrosa anymore."

Law bit back his scathing reply, opting instead for cool silence and hoping that if he ignored her, she'd go away on her own.

"You achieved your goal by taking down Doflamingo, didn't you?"

Well yeah, he did. Although technically, it was Luffy who finally took down that monster.

"What are you going to do next?"

His internal sarcasm stopped briefly. What was he going to do? This was the goal that he'd spent over a decade working towards. Sure, he had been aiming for Pirate King, but that was more as an incidental, not as something he needed.

Rather than answer to either himself or Robin, Law turned away.

"Leave me alone."

There was only thing he really wanted right now, besides a reunion with his crew members. And he wouldn't be getting it just yet.

As he went down the steps, something caught his eye. That was strange. One of Bartolomeo's crewmembers was actually looking at him. Law's eyes narrowed for a moment, ready for the usual contempt from him.

But the man just nodded respectfully, and then turned back to ogling Straw Hat. Law scoffed. Someone was actually giving him some much-deserved respect on this goddamn ship—

Was… Was that chewing behind him?

He blinked for a moment. Luffy was in front of him, so he knew it wasn't him.

There was an audible swallow, and then, "Hey stranger, long time no see."

He knew that voice. Without stopping to breathe, he turned to face his seer, casually leaning against a railing, chewing on an apple. She was dressed in some khaki pants and light green t-shirt, but no shoes. Clearly Violet had tried to make tame her hair on the half without bald spots. It was short now, just longer than his own on one half, with the other half clipped close to her scalp. It was clearly a successful attempt to hide the bald patches. She had oversized sunglasses that blocked her eyes from being visible from others, but he knew her immediately. For a moment, he fought the urge to immediately grab her and lock lips with his wayward seer. In fact, had they been on his own ship, he probably would have.

Looking closer, as she continued to munch away, she was still far too thin. He could tell that leaning against the railing was necessary; it seemed that she didn't have enough strength to do so by herself. A glance behind him told him that the Straw Hats and crew members of this ship were distracted momentarily with their own fangirlness. Even Robin, with her piercing gaze, was distracted by Franky. He was currently telling her "something something super." Honestly Law didn't care.

She was here.

"How did you get here?"

She pointed. "Green Mohawk man. I like Luffy, too."

He fought an eyebrow twitch. Hadn't she called the King her "favorite" at one point? She giggled, and he relaxed. One more glance around, and he reached out his non-injured hand towards her hand, stepping forward just to brush their fingers against each other. It was all he would allow himself on this enemy ship.

She obliged, reaching at the same time as he did. Their fingertips brushed, and both seemed to hold a breath for a moment as the world around them melted.

There it was. A shock of adrenaline, tingling electricity that soothed his soul, grounding him while it lifted him. For a moment, he fought to remember how to breathe as he basked in an utter emptiness of his mind, a state of relaxation he hadn't had since she had first disappeared on him.

What could he say? What should he say? He had thought over the last year and a half of a hundred things that he would tell her, from scolding and scathing to loving and funny. He wanted to make her cry and scream for all the torment, just as much as he wanted to make her smile and laugh. And make her bleed. He definitely wanted to rip into her. His scalpel was just in his back pocket, ever so tantalizingly close…

Goddamnit, he was fucked in the head.

Here now though… He knew the wounds she had suffered at his behest. His mind relaxed and emptied, and only one thing came out of his traitorous mouth.

"… I'm sorry, Is-ya." He blinked for a moment, realizing with surprise that he genuinely was sorry. This was an odd and uncomfortable situation. Law glanced away, suddenly finding the floorboards of the deck quite interesting material to look at.

Fuck, what the hell was wrong with him?

She answered slowly, carefully. "Captain… if anything, I'm sorry. But… there is something you should know. I didn't… I didn't exactly get away scott-free."

"Scott-free?"

"Don't worry about it. But Law… you didn't feel me at first because I wasn't there. The…" She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Shadows?" he finished for her, barely breathing out the question, eyes lifting to meet hers again. She nodded, and Law's blood ran cold. Shifting the apple core into the back half of her palm, she lowered the sunglasses. He frowned at the specs of black that had joined the rest in her multicolored eyes. She replaced her sunglasses, and removed the touch of her hand from his. She nibbled on the apple, other arm crossed across her lap, looking away for a moment.

He took in this knowledge for a moment, before glancing back at the others. After confirming that they were still involved in themselves, he asked, "What happened?"

"I'm not entirely certain, Captain. I think I went to live with them for a while. But you know Doflamingo… it was actually preferred. I can tell you it didn't hurt. I can tell you that I'm not entirely certain what happened in that time frame, nor how long it had been, and that I'm sure there will be severe consequences."

"Beyond your immortality, you mean."

Her smile was tight. "Fuck off. I'm not looking forward to that."

"Visions?"

She relaxed, bobbing her head along as if listening to a song. "Always, Captain. Jack will break his crown."

He tucked that bit away for later. It occurred to him that she was right. She wasn't as present as she used to be, nor was she as crazy as she once was. He couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shook his head, preferring to change topic instead of thinking any further on this. "I can't believe the squirt is the King."

She laughed, a bit of tension seeming to relieve itself from her shoulders. "But he's so cool!"

He stared at her for a moment, disbelieving. "You've got to be kidding me, Isabelle."

She giggled, and for a moment, a smile graced his lips.

She was okay. She was laughing her in front of him.

For a moment, her eyes seemed to droop, and she rubbed them with the back of her hand. He crossed his arms, going immediately into doctor mode and assessing her.

"Is-ya, go get some rest. You've a week to recover before we reach Zou." She nodded in understanding, yawning for a moment before she removed herself from her seat and walked into a room not far from where they'd been tucked away in a corner of this stupid ship. He noted the location for later, and then walked into the throng of people to take a seat on the couch. He, too, needed rest. It would be a long road to recovery.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Law should have been expecting this. He really should have.

Except for the Silver Mine incident (which he refused to acknowledge), the trip so far had been fairly easy. To feed Straw Hat's enormous appetite, his crew members had been polite enough to fish for some of their meals. At the rate that they all ate, and with the rather ridiculous generosity of Bartolomeo, they would have long since run out of food if they hadn't. Law realized that it had to have been provisioned by someone who would have made an accurate guess as to not only which ship they would choose to take them to Zou, but an accurate guess as to how much everyone on the ship would eat.

There was only one person who could do that, he supposed.

The chewing gum that surrounded Law made his skin crawl, so he stuck to the couch as much as he could. It seemed it was the one spot where this germ-infested crew would not stick their gum. He slept in between extreme weather changes where he jumped up to help, as the actual crew of the ship was neigh well useless. He hadn't seen Is since she had first appeared, although he guessed that it was partially to recover her strength, and partially because she was hiding her own horde of food from the master vacuum, Luffy.

Well. He hadn't seen her until now.

It was day five of their journey, and the crew (who had been sleeping out on the deck due to nice weather), was tickled awake in the early hours by quiet singing.

 _"Jack and Jill ran up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after."_

That giggle, he thought. There was only one person to whom that giggle belonged.

"Ah! Miss! You're awake!" said Bartolomeo. He greeted Law's seer with a familiar wave before falling over and trying to shove some gum in his mouth.

Usopp had probably been one of the first ones awake. Law hid his smile. His seer did have a way of making an entrance, at least. He repositioned himself on the couch to watch the show. Is continued the children's rhyme.

 _"Up Jack got, and home did trot, as fast as he could caper; And went to bed, and bound his head, with vinegar and brown paper."_

"Oi!" shouted Usopp, all confidence in his voice and quake in the knees. "Could you not? We were trying to sleep."

All around, the rest of the crew were rubbing their eyes and beginning their day. A few of them waved a greeting to the young woman who was lounging on the railing. She turned her head and spared a glance at Usopp.

"Liar, liar, uso, liar. A God maybe, I'll set on fire…" she sang. She cackled. Usopp paled, and Law couldn't hide his grin any longer.

Bartolomeo looked up at Usopp, "Ah! I brought your friend. She said–" he briefly swallowed his throw up before continuing, "she said she wanted to surprise you."

Usopp blinked. "My friend?"

Franky walked over. Now Is was humming to herself, turned around so she was sitting on the railing and facing the crew. She looked almost back to her full weight again, maybe just 10 pounds shy of perfection. In this light, with the sun behind her and lighting up her blonde hair…

"Oi, oi, this—SUPER— person isn't someone I've seen before."

Bartolomeo blinked stupidly. Robin had untangled herself elegantly from her hammock. She joined the small throng around Is, piercing and observant gaze deducing away. "I believe I may have seen her before. But I don't remember where."

Bartolomeo paled, and the pointed an accusing finger at Is. "B-but you told me the rations, you told me you were following the Captain, that the Captain would be boarding with us—"

Is jumped off the railing and hugged Bartolomeo. "Thank you! I found Captain. Don't cause too much— opps, too late!" She cackled. Law shook his head. She was clearly not nearly as sane as she was previously. He'd have to work on that.

Robin seemed to think for a minute. "That song you were singing, what was it? I've never heard it before."

Is let go of Bartolomeo just in time to push him towards the railing so that he could aim his puke. She patted him on the back. "There, there, mister. There, there. It's a song I know."

So Jack will break his crown. Law frowned. Jack was a rather common name, unfortunately. There were three Kings he could conjure up immediately with the name Jack. Now that he thought about it, hadn't he heard her sing this before?

Luffy was of course up on his fake self's hat, completely unaware of the situation.

Robin had a calculating look to her face, and Is grabbed her hands delicately.

"I like you. You've got spirit. Olivia would be proud."

Robin stiffened visibly, and Law heard a small intake of breath. Clearly this Olivia was important to her. Law filed that away for later.

Usopp had his arms crossed. "W-well… Bartolomeo, what do you mean you brought her? From Dressrosa?"

Bartolomeo nodded. Another crew member brought him a glass of water, and he used it to rinse out his mouth. "Princess Violet was taking care of her. Although… How did you gain so much weight?"

She giggled. "I ate and ate and ate." Is patted her belly. "Ate more than my whole crew."

Well that was true. On a good day she generally ate twice as much as the other members of their crew. Missing as many meals as she had? Well, she'd probably been non-stop eating for over a week now.

Bartolomeo blinked stupidly, before he turned green. Probably at the mention of food.

Usopp nodded. "Well, you can't be dangerous if you are friends with Violet. Is Luffy the Captain you're talking about?"

She laughed. "No, no, no, silly. Luffy is King! Captain is Captain."

This only seemed to confuse them more. Is frowned momentarily, rubbing her head. Clearly, headaches were bothering her.

"Right," continued Usopp,"is Luffy the Captain you're looking for?"

She shook her head, frowning.

"Bartolomeo?"

She giggled, then shook her head again.

"Then…" the whole group turned to look at Law. The gig was up, he supposed.

"Is-ya, introduce yourself."

They all blinked, then turned to Is. She saluted Law with exaggerated, comical movements.

"Hi! My name is Isabelle. Or Is. Something like that. Bad feather guy had me, did not nice things, now I'm here."

They all blinked for a moment again. Usopp was the first to stutter out a reply.

"B-b-bad feather guy? Doflamingo?"

Is froze at the man's name, and suddenly lost all of her silliness. She leaned back against the railing, crossing her arms.

"Yeah. That guy." Her voice had dropped an octave, and suddenly she was her sane self. "Long story short, he very much enjoys my powers. After almost a year of running, he finally caught me. When you guys won, Violet found my body, and Captain helped heal me. Needless to say, it wasn't a good experience."

Something seemed to click for Robin. "I remember you now. A photo of you was circling the black market a while ago."

Is nodded. "Yeah. That was Doflamingo looking for me."

Robin nodded, humming lightly to herself for a second. Then she asked, "What were those powers you mentioned?"

She rubbed her head again, frowning and not seeming to hear anyone. Law spoke to her. "Is-ya, come and sit down before you fall down."

She nodded, leaving the gaggle to sit at his feet. She leaned her head on his knee, and much as they had done at his desk so long ago, she promptly fell asleep. He absentmindedly rubbed her head, using it as an opportunity to do some much needed therapy with his hand. The others stared for a moment, and Law sighed. The electricity did much to calm his agitation.

"Sit, and I'll explain."

The curious Straw Hats joined him on the couch. Law explained how he had original found her, as a slave to Doflamingo on a cargo ship. How he had rescued her from that fate with the intention of pissing off Doflamingo, only for her to turn around and rescue a crewmate. He spoke briefly of her becoming a member of his crew willingly, and that she befriended them all, and then how she disappeared for a year to keep Doflamingo away from them, and sacrificed herself to make sure that Law stayed safe.

Needless to say, by the end of his story, Franky was sobbing. As the only normal one, Usopp had his arms crossed and was frowning.

"I don't understand, though. What exactly are her powers? Why was he after her?"

Law smiled, and tapped his seer awake.

"Is-ya. Tell me about Usopp."

She yawned, stretching as she spoke. "Ah, liar man with the girlfriend back home. You should write to her, you know. She's becoming a doctor to treat your wounds. It's kinda cute, actually." Is grinned, looking up at Law. "Would you treat my wounds, Captain?"

Usopp was currently sputtering and blushing to his roots, while Robin had a thoughtful look on her face. She spoke while tapping her chin thoughtfully with a pen that had appeared from no where. "Interesting. So she can see the past?"

"More or less," Law shrugged. "She sees timelines."

"Is it a devil fruit power?"

This time Is replied. "You guys met Madam Sharley. It's like that, but stronger." She yawned again. "Captain, I've got a serious headache."

"Deal with it, Is-ya."

She pouted. "Fiiiiiine."

Robin was clearly still thinking about something. The woman was far too intelligent for Law's liking to be on a rival pirate ship.

Usopp spoke first. "So Doflamingo wanted her to tell him the future?"

Is shook her head, and then nodded. "Well, kinda? He more preferred the other thing."

"Other thing?"

"Yeah. Can't die thing. That thing."

They all blinked for a moment again.

Is started rubbing her eyes again. "Two more days, Captain. Can I sleep until then?"

Law rubbed her head again, grunting his permission and doing his best to appear uninterested. He leaned his chin on his hand as she fell asleep again, her sunglasses slipping down the bridge of her nose.

"So she's immortal?" asked Robin quietly after a moment. Law thought to himself before he responded. "More or less. She still needs food. Doflamingo almost managed to kill her."

"So she's the one you were watching the water for?" Robin asked, a little too knowingly. Law hesitated for a moment while he mentally kicked himself. He'd been gazing out at the water until he knew Is was on the ship, and then had been sitting or standing without looking out since. Of course a brilliant woman like this would have picked up on it.

Law nodded, saying casually, "She hadn't been well enough to travel, so I assumed she'd stayed behind in the castle. I hadn't thought that Rooster over there would have brought her along."

Robin smiled, leaning her chin on her hand. Damnit the woman was good. She probably knew everything at this point, although Law could tell that the others were in the dark of her being anything besides one of Law's crewmates. Bartolomeo had left the group now and gone to ogle Luffy some more, while Franky still had yet to stop crying. Zoro was asleep somewhere still, Usopp clearly looked satisfied, and Is was resting at his knee.

All was right with the world. The King would defeat the beast, but only with help which he had plenty of. Law would continue to help out as he could to repay some of the debt that he owed before he took the title of Pirate King for himself. Jack would break his crown, they would reach Zou soon, and his seer would be all right.

"Oh, Captain?"

"Hm?" he grunted, glancing down at Is.

"When we get there, don't be worried. Everyone's safe and okay. None of ours got hurt."

Law nodded for a moment, and then Is fell back asleep. She had spoken quietly enough that he didn't think anyone else had heard, not even the watchful Robin (who had been distracted by Franky loudly professing his undying loyalty to his seer).

Whatever consequences there would be for Is staying with the Shadows, Law was sure that they'd face them together and come out okay. One thing was for sure – he was never letting her go again.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

THE END

There will be one more chapter as an epilogue. At this point in the series, since there are so many unanswered questions, you are welcome to either message me or drop a review with your questions. I may leave one more chapter as a Q/A session after the epilogue. The unanswered questions were on purpose – partially because One Piece has yet to finish, and partially because the characters don't know all the answers, so it wouldn't make sense for me to explain it all when the narration is coming from their point of view.

Thank you all for reading all the way through my story. I had a blast from beginning to end, but part of being a good author is knowing where to end it. Anything else that I write would simply be dragging out the ending, and personally I prefer writing fanfiction that complements the main story rather than creating/competing with it. Oda is far too good of a writer for me to try, which we can all attest to since you are reading a fanfiction of his original story.

Thank you again for being awesome fans!

Jenny


	37. Epilogue

"Are you sure about this, Captain?"

Olonnais glared over his beer at his second in command. His dark eyes smoldered with annoyance in the dim light of the bar. His thick brunette hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and he leaned on his elbows. Taller than most Skyship Captains, he had a presence that denied others the chance to argue.

"We've been flying for two months looking for this prophet, Jean. I'm not giving up now."

Jean shrugged, his fingers tapping lightly on the sword in his lap. The blonde man was much his Captain's opposite, being both fairer of skin and rather dully minded. Furthermore, Olonnais had a much bigger appetite for blood than his companion, even if Jean was the one with the sword. Olonnais leaned back, carefully sipping his drink.

Finally. He was finally going to meet this damn woman. She was going to tell him how to get revenge for his fallen comrades — one way or another.

Six months ago, Olonnais's crew had been attacked and he lost his precious airship. With his airship went most of his crew — only four had survived, Jean and himself included. The danger and thrill of airships had always been the possibility of a deadly descent, he supposed. Olonnais had nothing to go on to exact his revenge except for a single logo, a torn bit of cloth he had managed to pull from an attacker before he fell.

Olonnais fought a sneer, choosing instead to take another sip. All the modern amenities and yet not a single person knew what this damn logo meant. He had even paid to have the Air Force database hacked to no avail. For a month after the hack, he had almost lost all hope, sticking to dens of the black market as he fervently hoped that someone, anyone, would tell him what the meaning of this damned logo was. In his desperation, he caught rumors that there was an ancient seer; for the right price, she could give you the information you sought even if nothing else had worked. He hadn't been one to believe in superstition, but desperate times and all.

The last two months had been them chasing their tails looking for this godforsaken woman. She had been practically a ghost, but their search had brought them to this tiny town on the outskirts of a city. Olonnais had only come here because it was a cheaper place to buy fuel than the nearby city, and the rooms to rent were easier to get for a decent price. Plus, he had heard rumors from a few people that he knew that this town was famous for being almost impossibly safe, and he'd made just enough enemies that he'd prefer playing it safe while he was sleeping.

Everything about his arrival in this town had been mere coincidence — a break to refuel and have a beer before they continued their search for the prophetic ghost.

It had all been rumor and speculation. Until now.

A townsperson had just confirmed her existence while getting drunk with his buddy — confirmed her existence and _that this was where she was_. Olonnais counted the seconds, forcing himself to drink his beer slowly instead of rush out to find this stupid, unfindable bitch.

Finally, enough time had passed. Olonnais stood up from his seat, tossing a few bills on the table as Jean stood to follow him. A single thought passed through his mind as Olonnais reflexively touched the scrap of logo in his pocket.

This bitch had better be worth it.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Olonnais breathed in deeply, adjusting his black jacket and combing the fly-away hairs back into position.

"So are you gonna knock, or are you gonna preen, Captain?" said Jean with mock distain. Olonnais bristled, and finally knocked resolutely on the door. There was a sound of shuffling feet, and locking mechanisms releasing before the door finally opened.

The woman behind the door was old — very old. She had a scarf around her head, and a mystic look to her eyes. She smiled warmly to the two men, and ushered them inside.

"Come in, come in, I've been expecting you."

Olonnais glanced back Jean, for a moment unsure. Jean gestured towards the door, and Olonnais slowly stepped inside.

The house was normal enough, he supposed, even if the set up was not. This space was open, the dividing walls nonexistent for this combined front room, kitchen and dinning room. Olonnais had never seen a house like it. There was a TV playing in the background. He could only see the back of the couch, but it seemed that there was someone there with short, blonde hair — a grandchild perhaps? — sleeping with a book on their face. The older woman shuffled slowly, leading them towards the kitchen table and turning towards the kitchen. Olonnais took a seat as the older woman made them some tea.

After a moment, she brought the tea back, taking seat opposite of the two men and facing towards the rest of this weird, open space.

"You've been expecting us?" he began slowly. She sipped her tea slowly.

"Oh, yes. Been having dreams about it for a while."

Olonnais swallowed, trying to contain his excitement. She was real, she was _really_ real.

Carefully, he pulled out the frayed bit of fabric from his jeans pocket.

"Then can you tell me what this is?"

She blinked slowly, setting down her cup and reaching out for the fabric. She studied it for a moment, turning it over in her hands and pursing her lips.

"Hm. I'm afraid not."

Olonnais froze. He had planned for this possibility, but…

He had really thought that she would know.

The woman leaned towards them, her face awash with confusion. "Don't you have someone else with you?"

He shared a confused glance with Jean. "You mean, besides him?"

"Yes. Someone new to your life, perhaps?"

Olonnais stood up quickly in anger. "Look, lady, I'm not here for your typical romance reading, I'm —"

"Well that's strange. Normally I only dream about guided. But you don't have a guide." She tapped her chin thoughtfully, completely unperturbed by the menacing Sky Captain before her. "How did you come here?"

He growled. "I'm here to see the rumored great prophet, although clearly I've been mistaken—"

The woman stood up slowly, chuckling as she did so. Olonnais deflated as she tottered over to the couch with the person sleeping under the pages of a book. The book was resting open on the face of a young woman, her arms crossed and legs splayed out in front of her. The old woman pulled the book off of her face, and tapped the young woman with it gently. "Mistress, do you know this image?"

Olonnais blinked. Mistress? Was… was the young one the seer? But wait, it was the old one who claimed to have seen him in her dreams, wasn't it?

The young woman groaned. "I was sleeping, Marie. I don't give a damn about your stupid piece of — Oh. Huh. Interesting."

She sat up, snatching the cloth from the older woman's hand as she stared at it. Olonnais carefully observed this mystery woman while she considered the scrap of cloth. Looking closely, there were streaks of black in her short, blonde hair. Her face was pretty enough, even if the tilt of her chin was a bit strong for his liking. The streaks of black were continued in a haphazard pattern down her much revealed skin — she was only wearing a low-cut t-shirt and shorts, after all. It was an interesting and rather intricate tattoo, he supposed, but he couldn't fathom the reason for getting such a widespread and rather random one.

She suddenly cackled. "10,000 beri and I'll tell him."

The woman chuckled. "Don't you mean credits, mistress?"

"Right. Whatever. Something like that." She seemed to daze off, muttering silently to herself.

Jean had stood up in anger, but Olonnais held out a hand to hold him off.

"So. You're the real seer then?" he said suspiciously to the young woman seated on the sofa. She didn't seem to hear him, leaning forward and bobbing her head.

The old woman approached and touched his shoulder. "We are both seers — I see things sometimes in dreams. But you are correct in saying that she is more powerful than myself."

Olonnais grinned. Fascinating. Something about her was sparking his interest. "What did you mean by guide and guided, Madam?"

The old woman shook her head, a far away look in her eyes while she spoke softly, "Sometimes other gifted people come to us, asking for help. I had assumed you were one of those — most people do not know of my lady's gift, and rarely seek her help. It is even rarer that she responds to their requests."

He considered both women for a moment, before reaching for his purse. He'd have to forgo an inn tonight, and for many nights, but the price would be worth it. He counted out the coins she needed, and the old woman took them gingerly, wrapped them up in a small cloth bag that reminded him of ancient pirates and medieval times. She wandered back to the other one, gently putting the bag in the other woman's hand.

For a full minute, nothing happened. Then the young woman seemed to suddenly notice that something was in her hand, and jiggled it, giggling.

"The logo, mistress," the old seer gently prodded.

"Right." She immediately stood up, and began to leave the room, barefoot and all.

Both Jean and Olonnais looked at each other before they followed her, as she walked barefooted out the door, down the street, turning right…

And walked straight into a butcher's shop.

Jean was chomping at the bit. Naturally, Olonnais supposed that he should also be furious — he should burn the woman alive for ripping him off, but he supposed that she wasn't done with him yet. They followed her into the store.

She dropped the bag on the counter. "Pay up, bitch."

The young male attendant sighed, clearly both exasperated and unsurprised. "Madam, that's not how it works…"

"Oi, I'm a customers. Customers are always right."

The attendant gave another sigh before leaning around a door and calling out, "Dad! She's back!"

There was a hearty, deep laugh from behind the doorway, and a large brute of a man stepped out. Olonnais crossed his arms.

"Well, well, well, mistress, what will it be this time?"

She tapped her chin, while she thought, and the bearded butcher took a glance at the men behind her. "My son can help you, gentlemen—"

"No need." Olonnais crossed his arms. "She still owes us the information she promised."

The butcher sighed. "Mistress, did you forget that you hadn't told them."

"Arms this time, okay mister? Everything else is fair game. Meet you outside in 5, you better stretch."

With that she skipped back out the front door, and the butcher sighed, leaning on the counter and inviting the two young men forward.

"She'll give you what you need, it just might take a bit. She doesn't always see what's around her."

Jean growled out, "That bitch owes us—"

"What was the payment for?" Olonnais interrupted. The butcher sighed, scratching his head for a moment.

"Well, if you aren't in a hurry, you'll see for yourself. Clearly you aren't from around here. She pays for food monthly, and a… very special kind of sparring session. It usually happens whenever anyone new is in town, discourages raiders and robberies and the like."

Curious, thought Olonnais. He grinned at the Butcher. "This will be interesting. Out front, you said?"

The man nodded solemnly, before straightening and returning to the back room. Olonnais thought quickly — clearly she was communicating without the usual spoken prophecy. She did this display whenever new people were in town so often that no one seemed bothered. He stepped out of the butcher's shop and saw a small crowd of people gathering. He crossed his arms as he went down the steps. The young woman was currently stretching in the middle of the street, while the crowd quickly grew in size.

She hadn't even acknowledged that he existed. He frowned. No, it was different than that — she hadn't registered the money in her hand for almost a full minute. Could it be that she just didn't see the world the same as everyone else?

He thought about everything he had witnessed while he waited. Right on time, the butcher stepped out of the back entrance of the shop carrying a broad sword. The young woman grinned, and even from this angle Olonnais could tell that it was a maniacal one.

"Are you ready, mistress?" called the Butcher. She cackled, linking her hands behind her back as she ran towards him. He swung at her with a speed that impressed Olonnais. It was clear that this man was highly trained. She leapt out of the way, dodging his blade and turning to kick him, which he expertly blocked. Her arms remained linked behind her back as the attack sounded like a clap of thunder.

Olonnais began almost shaking in his excitement. Whatever he had thought about this mad-woman's attractiveness was overshadowed now by this incredible display of strength and speed. The two continued, each collision echoing in the air with it's force.

This was it — this town was peaceful because of these displays. No one would dare to attack with these two defending it.

The butcher finally got the upper hand, slicing a gash deep into the woman's quad, shocking Olonnais out of his thoughts. A wound like that could ruin any fighter — why was he fighting with a live blade? — only she didn't miss a beat and continued to fight.

"They'll be at this for a while. Tea?" Olonnais jumped. The old woman had somehow snuck up on him. Jean was so thoroughly enthralled with the swordplay he hadn't noticed anyone else existed.

Olonnais accepted the offered cup of tea, turning his attention back to the fight. "I'm not leaving until she tells me. If she doesn't, I'll kill you both."

The old woman chuckled. "I may be an easy target, but I'm sure you've noticed that my mistress would be more than happy to oblige in a death match."

"But how is she still fighting with that leg wound? Her leg shouldn't even be working right now, he sliced her quadricep in two."

"Are you so sure?"

Olonnais blinked, turning his attention back to the fight. There was still blood on the woman's leg… He squinted, then realized that there wasn't enough blood. "… Don't tell me. She's immortal."

The old woman cackled. "How'd you guess?"

"Oh something something ancient seer. Just please don't tell me that you played me. 10,000 credits is a great sum of money."

"I know. You'll get your answer."

He shook his head, sitting down on the steps of the butcher's shop as he watched the butcher continually slice into the cackling, immortal madwoman.

—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—

Four hours later, the butcher finally pleaded for a break. After much whining from the immortal woman, he agreed to have another go tomorrow.

The old woman approached her. A few minutes prior she had finally left Olonnais's side to grab a wet rag and a bucket of water. She handed the wet rag to the young woman who used it to absentmindedly wipe the blood away from her skin.

Now was his chance. He approached the immortal from behind, clearing his throat.

"Ugh. Go away," she groaned.

"Not until you tell me what that symbol was."

She paused, handing the towel to the old woman who wrung it out for her, dipped it in the water, and handed it back. Olonnais couldn't tell if this was because the old woman was her servant, or her helper.

"Didn't I tell you?"

"No."

"Ah. Opps. Well whatever, it's not gonna take you where you want to go anyway. This isn't the logo of who attacked you."

"What?" Olonnais seethed. Six months of searching, and it was all for not? No. He refused. He reached out to grab her wrist as he hissed out, "Look here, bitch, I—"

It was all he said before his skin touched hers and a sudden jolt froze his world. Time stopped as electricity flooded his veins, tingling down all of his extremities as he had a sudden acute awareness of this woman, how she stood, and how she breathed. Their eyes met, and he stifled a gasp at the marvel that was her eyes.

And then it was over. He dropped to his knees, glancing up to see the immortal woman shouting at the sky.

"—got to be fucking kidding me, you bastards! 500 hundred years of waiting, and this is the bastard that you give me? What the fuck is he supposed to be, he's fucking no one. And using Law's logo was a low fucking move, you asswipes, go fuck yourselves, I'm cursing your fucking names, see if I fucking help—"

There was a tap on his shoulder and the smiling face of the old woman as the young one continued cursing at the air. "Well now. It seems you are a guided one after all — my mistress will explain everything to you once she's a little calmer, as she is your guide—"

The irate immortal turned back to face him, pointing an accusing finger at him. "And you! Don't even get me started on you, you fucking bastard. Why the fuck should I guide you, worthless piece of shit—" At this point, Jean had sliced off her pointing hand, but it didn't seem to distract her in the least as she continued her tirade without missing a beat.

This was irritating and confusing. Olonnais glared at her. "Shut the fuck up."

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it. She crossed her arms and glared at the ground.

That was interesting. Olonnais smirked. Was it a fluke, or…

"Turn around."

She glared daggers at him, but she turned.

He grinned sadistically. "Sit."

She sat while indignantly flabbergasted and muttering to herself. This certainly wasn't how he expect his day to go. He looked around for a moment, then watched in morbid fascination as her arm began reforming before his eyes. He glanced at Jean for a moment, who only stood there blinking in total bewilderment.

So. Here he was stuck in the middle of no where, his only lead on those who attacked him a dead end and with a immortal who he had absolute control over.

Definitely worth the price that he paid.

He walked over to her, crouching to get to her eye level. He studied her multicolored eyes for a moment. He'd never seen anything like it — her eyes were green as a base, but there were specks of blue, brown, gold, and veins of black. She glared at him for a moment, and it stole his breath — partially because she was still covered in blood, and partially because the anger seemed to only highlight the intensity of her gaze. He could definitely get used to this view.

"So. I'm Olonnais. What is your name?"

She sighed, deflating a little and seeming to resign herself to her situation.

"I suppose I've certainly waited long enough."

He nodded. "500 years since… what, your last 'guided' or whatever? That was back in the Great Pirate age, wasn't it?"

Her smile turned softer. "Yeah…"

"That logo then—"

"Was meant to bring you to me. It's my ex's."

"…Uh-huh," said Olonnais skeptically.

She didn't seem to notice. "Yep. Been too long since that bastard finally died on me." She sighed. "Whelp, I guess I get to help you track down your bad guys now."

He chuckled, a weight lifting from his chest. He would get those bastards after all. "You still haven't answered me."

She considered him for a moment. "Hm. Right. My name is Isabelle. I guess you're mine now."

/./././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

A/N

I've already started working on another story that I published yesterday (or at least I published Chapter 1). It's a different style, but y'all are welcome to take a look.

I've tried to answer reviewers as faithfully as I can. Even if you are reading this 6 months or years from time of posting this chapter, I honestly do try to reply to every review — ask me questions and I will answer. Especially because I love misdirection so much, there are many things that I'll never explain unless you ask. :) Don't believe everything I say!

Thank you all!

Jenny


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